Walking But Not Dead Yet
by Aspect of Unoriginal Thought
Summary: Clementine has left Lee to die instead of killing him before he turns, however Lee has woken up alive many hours after she left him. Will he ever figure out how he survived the bite? will he ever find Clementine? or will he be claimed by the dead? Disclaimer: I do not own Telltale's Walking Dead nor their characters. Strong Language, Violence, Use of drugs, and Gore. S1-S2
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hello reader. You're either an old follower of this story, or a new one. Either way, thank you for viewing. I hope you enjoy.**

Clementine turned to Lee, Bat still in hand. "I did it. I got him."

He turned to look at her. "You can take care of yourself, see?"

She shook her head. "No, not all the time."

"Yeah you can, don't worry."

Clementine approached the dead officer and picked up the keys then faced Lee, gun in hand.

"Hey." He began. "You're strong, Clem, you can do anything."

"But I'm little."

He shook his head. "Doesn't mean nothing. you're going to see bad stuff, but... its okay."

"My parents. its so horrible."

"I can't imagine, sweet pea."

"And now... you? PLEASE... please don't be one of them. please don't become a walker."

He raised his head and replied slowly: "There's only one thing you can do, you know that." He gave her a serious look for this.

"I don't know if i can." She said, shaking her head.

Lee thought about it before telling her, leaving her in silence before he gave her an answer: "You can leave me. It's okay." He told her, pain in his voice.

"You'll be just like them."

"Its okay, it won't be me."

"Leeee..." She cried.

"Clem, its time to go. you gotta get out of here."

"You can come with me." She persisted.

"No, Clem, I cant. its okay."

"PLEASE." Clementine tried once more.

"You have to go. Now." He urged.

"Maybe... maybe i shouldn't let you turn."

"I don't want you to have to do that... This way you just remember me talkin' to you and saying goodbye. Nothing else."

She nodded, tears caressing their way down her cheeks.

"Its like Larry, honey, he was going one way or the other but, at that moment I couldn't do more violence. You have to be careful about that, it'll consume you."

"I'll go, I'll leave you... I'll go as fast as I can." She told him, trembling on the words.

"And as safe as you can, always be safe." A moment of silence fell upon the two. "Find... Omid and... Christa. They're probably looking for us right now, stay on high ground, don't go too far and you'll find them."

Clementine nodded.

"They'll take good care of you." He assured her, looking away from her before she began sobbing. "And Clem..."

She raised her head back up, "Huh?"

Lee paused for a moment then told her: "...Keep that hair short."

"I will, I'll cut it myself." She promised, considering it a serious oath.

"Great, good... and also..." Lee began to drift off before he could finish.

"What, what is it?" Clementine asked, leaning closer.

Lee slowly snapped back up. "No, don't worry, Alright." there was another brief silence. He shook his head and smiled, not a doubt in his mind; she could take care of herself now. "I'll miss you." He let out.

"Me too." Clementine quickly grabbed Lee's hand as a way of saying goodbye, Lee clutched it. Clementine looked at Lee then, got up and eyed the stairs. "Don't go." She whispered to him. Clementine began backing away towards the exit letting out a sad moan as she approached the exit. Lee lifted up his head to look at her just before completely drifting away...

Lee awoke some time later, Clementine was nowhere in sight. He slowly raised his head off of the radiator.

"…I'm alive?" He said aloud before stumbling to his feet. "How the?.. I was..." He said, dumbfounded.

He collected himself and then approached the dead police officer Clem had killed before, and sighed, "I wish Clem didn't have to do this… Wait, Clem!" He instantly recalled. He considered running towards the exit, but reconsidered, instead he knelt down beside the officer, his only hand felt completely dry.

"She might not be too far, I have to hurry." He then reached for a piece of glass from the shattered window.

Clutching the shard of glass he began cutting open the stomach of the former police officer. The smelly, rotten flesh made disturbing noise as he cut; as if he were mixing pasta. Once he cut the walker's stomach open enough, he reached inside and pulled out part of the intestines, presumably the large rope-like one, and began quickly smearing blood on the organ against his torso and shoulders.

"If the blood on my clothes and on the ground were dry before, I must have been out for a while, then that means... Clem must be long gone by now."

Once he was sure he had enough he dropped the filthy organ and stood up and walked towards the staircase.  
"I should check over by the marsh house, maybe they're still there... I don't know... they've probably left the city by now, I might never see them again." Opening the door to the exit he notices a stairway leading up to the next floor but there is bookcase blocking the way up, it was slightly tilted to the side so Clementine could have crawled through.

"Damn..." He uttered before returning to the room he was in before. Lee looked around the room and noticed a red escape door beside the place he was lying before. He approached, feeling slightly lightheaded. He turned the handle,

"Locked..." He could see an ally through the window to the escape door. "Guess I could bust it open..." He decided as he keeled down and retrieved the bat Clem left behind.

"Okay, here I go..." He placed the tip of the bat on the ground and quickly, with all his strength, he forced the bat in a 180 degree swing. He made contact with the window and it smashed it right open. Glass shards fell to the ground. Hopefully no walkers could hear that from outside. He dropped the bat and approached the window, scraping any excess glass out of the way before placing one leg through and then carefully the other. When he felt the ground on the other side, he fully hopped out, staggering slightly. He turned to see the ocean of walkers still roaming the city on both streets perpendicular to the ally. He slightly tripped on an open man hole beside him.

"I'm not going down there, I'll never be able to find my way around." Lee said before he turned back to the street where the Marsh house was on. "I really hope Omid and Christa got to her." He whispered as he stood there, alone in the ally.

He began walking towards the herd. Once he reached the herd and began making his way through it he could see the marsh house ahead along with the station wagon just outside. "That station wagon might be a good way to get out of the city, if I can get these streets clear somehow. Too bad there isn't a bell tower near by." He said as approached the vehicle that had caused so many problems and began examining it's interior. It had a little less than half a continued to make his way down the street, flowing with the walkers down a block or two, getting knocked side to side, until he noticed at radio store nearby. It was a tan building with 'Radio central' in red letters across the sign in front of the store.

"Maybe those Crawford guys left some speakers in there, Might get em moving this way and away from the car." He assumed.

Lee approached the store and noticed to his delight, it was empty, no walkers. He was about to grab the handle and pull the door open but reconsidered; there was a bell on the top of the now shattered glass door. Lee tried for the ally way between the store and the next door apartment. As the former college professor entered the store through the alternate entrance off in the ally beside it. He noticed there was almost nothing left inside the building. He sighed,

"Well better take a look around, who knows..." He turned to see pictures on the wall of an old man on a tractor, a small family at Disneyland, and various other photos all hung beside the counter to the right of the front door. "Looks like the staff and probably the people who owned the place." He assumed as he briefly looked at each one. After turning away from the portraits, he began scanning the store. He could see two large speakers screwed to the floor towards the back of the store. "Those are probably pretty loud, too bad there isn't any power."

After a moment of searching the littered floor he also noticed a small glass display case opposite the room with an expensive CD player with an old rock band album placed on the top of the display.

"Still, not much use without power, maybe I could just... check..." He suddenly felt lightheaded and lost his balance, beginning to drift off; as a drunk man might, but managed to stay on his feet. "Goddamn... maybe I just need to find some food or something, I did lose a bit of blood."

Lee then noticed his a door that appeared in his peripheral vision. He turned and jogged towards it. He tried turning the knob but it was locked. "Yeah that's what I figured." He turned to check the store, still empty. He turned back to the door, backed up, and slammed it with the bottom of his shoe. He panted and held his chest as he peered into the dark back room. The only thing visible in the small room were, two sets of pull up blinds. Suddenly a foul scent seeped into Lee's nostrils. He coughed and tried not to breathe in the smell.

"I can't see... If I could just get these blinds open." He then felt around until he found the pulling mechanism for the blinds. He pulled down on it, bringing the blinds all the way up. "Here we..." Lee stopped, having seen a sight he was all too familiar with; the body of a suicide victim. The now, half rotten corpse, head leaning to the right, two holes on opposite temples. "Jesus..." Lee then noticed he was holding two items; a snub nosed pistol in his left hand and a note in his right. Lee carefully pulled the note out of the dead man's hand, slightly cringing, it read:

_"Dear, Quintus,_  
_I know you didn't want to be at Crawford but since we left we have lost too many people, I got bit while you guys were away, anyhow I've left these items and thought the only way to keep them safe was to lock them away. By the time you read this I will be dead I will have shot myself before I would be able to turn, please my most dearest friend take these supply's and make a home for yourself somewhere safe._

_Sincerely, Jesse."_

"Poor guy…" Lee said sympathetically. He then grabbed the gun and placed it in the back of his pants. "Well, looks like he left some supplies behind." Lee said while looking at the items that laid before him, a backpack full of preserved food, evidenced by the fact that is was open. Two fuel cans, and a car battery.

"Guess I could attach this battery to the fuse box around back." He made sure to turn off all the lights so that the walkers would not enter prematurely.

He slowly carried the car battery around to the back ally. Once he was in front of the power outlet, he grabbed a pair of jumper cables that were wrapped around the battery. He attached the first side of the jumper cables to the fuse box and the other to the battery. "Now the store should be powered for a while." He made his way back inside. He knelt down beside the small display case with the CD player and CD and pulled it open. "Let's see how the dead like, 'Iron Maiden'" He set up the CD player to the large speakers then the speakers to the wall. "Better grab the other supplys before I turn this thing on." He entered the back room and grabbed the backpack, he placed one arm through and let it slide down to his shoulders before taking his amputated arm and placing it through. He then looked down at the two gas cans bitterly.

"Two cans, one arm." He said, annoyed. He proceeded to pick up a gas can and carry it into the placed down the can then flicked the on button for CD player. Lee instantly grabbed the gas can and rushed into the ally way and slowed down once he reached the other side of the street on the other side of the buildings, towards the street to the marsh house. After a brief second the music began booming loudly through the city. He struggled his way through the herd as they sped up and turned their attentions towards the radio store. A loud guitar solo played out throughout the streets similar to the volume of a concert.A few minutes later as lee was on his way back to the station wagon it felt like he was going against the traffic and he was holding a heavy can of gas, he felt himself beginning to tire.

"Man maybe a car wasn't worth all this trouble." He thought, as he sweated in the hot morning sun. "Well there's the station wagon." Lee put down the can and reconsidered entering the car. "Even though there are less walkers over here I should wait until the street is clear before opening this car.

After several minutes of watching the herd, the street was empty.

"Seems safe to hop inside now" He assumed.

The stranger had left his keys in the ignition. "Well I can't say this is the first time that guy has left his keys in the car." He said as he sat down in the driver's seat placing the backpack full of food in the passenger's seat. He then closed his eyes and laid back in his seat. "Clementine..." He said quietly, already beginning to miss her. "I hope you made it out okay, and that I'll see you again."

He suddenly remembered that he had left the gas on the street outside, he opened his door and picked it up and placed it on the floor in front of the passenger's side. He turned the keys and the car screeched before starting. He changed gears and pressed on the gas. He began speeding down the street, not waiting for anything. The music began to sound disrupted, like several walking dead were beating on it. As he drove he began seeing several walkers approach and block his way.

"Shit, maybe if I go around this block." He said, quickly turning down the street to his left. Only to his dismay, there was a large gathering of walkers just down the street.  
"SHIT!" Lee exclaimed frantically before he slowed to a stop and changed gears, beginning to turn the car's direction around but, the geeks were already jumping at the car. He quickly put his foot down on the gas pedal hitting two walkers in the process shattering one of his head lights. He turned, completely steering back. He began breathing hard, he knew if he got trapped, there was no chance of running. He pushed the gas pedal down, speeding up a great deal, seeing several streets he passed begin to fill with the dead. At this point he was hoping to be able to exit the city limits that were just a block away before they blockade him inside the city. He continued gaining more and more speed.

"I didn't survival all this to die here!" At this point he was pushing the top speed of the station wagon. The incoming hordes were just about to fill the city limits when he drove past them, just by the skin of his teeth making it, unscathed. There were still a few walkers here and there but ultimately their numbers seemed to be decreasing as he drove onward. After half an hour of driving he could see the train that brought him to Savannah. Lee's heart rate slowed as he drove down the highway, slowing down to a safer speed.

**Two hours of driving later...**

He was almost 100 miles from Savannah and in all that time driving, Lee did not see Clementine anywhere on near the road. "Fuck…" Lee said with much sorrow and disappointment in his tone. He gripped the leather of the wheel with his hand. The sweat on his forehead bothered him but, he didn't dare take his only hand off the wheel. Suddenly, the station wagon began sputtering and came to a stop. He checked the gas needle; it was dead on E. "Damn... " He complained before stepping out of the vehicle. As he got out and opened the back of the station wagon, he heard an approaching vehicle not far from away.

"Maybe that's them... then again maybe not." Lee pulled out the small revolver from the back of his pants. He turned to see that a truck was coming towards him, it was green and white with four roof lights on top. "Hershel told me once to trust strangers... Hasn't been helpful for most the time." he said aloud before the truck pulled up alongside him. It was a Caucasian man wearing a ball cap and a denim jacket.

There was a short silence, then the stranger spoke,

"Nice car you got there." He joked.

Lee raised an eyebrow and said "Not exactly my style."

The stranger laughed and said, "Need a ride?"

Lee looked at the station wagon then back to the stranger and then said: "What's your name, man?"

"I'm Nate, or, Nathaniel... whatever you like, how about you?" He inquired.

"Lee."

"Well, get your stuff and hop in, Lee. You look like fun." Nate told him, turning back to his wheel.

Lee approached his car, gathered his things and then walked towards the truck.

"Yeah just put your stuff in the back so we can get a move on." Nate said.

Lee did as he said and hopped opened the passenger's side door and climbed into the truck and they were off; Nate began gradually speeding up.

"So what's the deal with the arm?" Nate asked not caring whether he was being rude or not.

"Long story." Lee replied, not ready to get into it.

"Well, shit I like long stories. Oh! but let me guess first: you were dumb enough to get bit _but_, smart enough to cut it off, is that it?" Nate said smirking all the while.

Lee slightly turned giving him a half glance. "Yeah, something like that."

Nate then frowned and said "You're not fun to mess with, I'm guessing you've had a real asshole around you before. You're probably used to that shit."

Lee looked out the passenger side window. "There were a couple of bad apples in my group, like this guy Larry, the guy was trying to blackmail me." Lee told him casually.

"What for?" Nate asked, half interested.

"I… uh killed a guy." Lee said, unsure of whether he made the right choice in telling him.

Nate simply replied with a chuckle. "Who hasn't?"

Lee began to realize bit by bit the kind of guy he was dealing with. "I mean before all of this, he was the state senator."

Nate was impressed; he nodded his head and patted Lee on the back, "Right on man, fuck the government, I'm starting to respect you, Lee." When he pulled his arm away, he noticed he had dark blood on his palm, "Nice." Nate said, wiping it on the seat.

In the distance was a silhouette of a man waving.

"Wonder who that could be… He might need some help." Nate said before suddenly beginning to speed up.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked, slightly startled.

Nate did not pay any attention to Lee as he sped up towards the stranger in the road.

"Slow down!" Lee yelled as they neared the individual in the road.

"Time for some road kill! WOO HOOOOO!" Nate was clearly enjoying the moment.

"STOP! DAMN IT!" Lee demanded, looking to the person in the road then back to Nate.

"HEELLL YEAH! " Nate yelled in joy giving no mind to the screaming one-armed man next to him.

Suddenly, Lee pulled his gun on Nate, poking the side of his head. Nate turned to face him, having felt the gun poke his head. Lee glared at him as he pulled the hammer of the small revolver back. Nate stopped smiling and slowed the truck to a stop. They both got out. Neither one exchanging a second look.

"Um hello?" the unknown person in the road called to them.

**Author's Note: I may have poorly written some of these chapters, I intend to correct them, though. If you can survive until I do; you might enjoy the story.**

**April, 27th, 2015. Chapter one revamped.**

**May, 12th, 2015. Chapter two revamped.**

**May, 13th, 2015. Chapter three revamped.**

**May, 15th, 2015. Chapter four revamped.**

**May, 15th, 2015. Chapter five revamped.**

**May, 16th, 2015. Chapter six revamped.**

**Fun fact: My original idea, before I went with this, was to have Lee and Nate fight in the road. Of course, Lee would have been the victor. It would have been a huge mistake.**


	2. On the road

Lee glared at Nate from his opposite position beside the truck, "We can talk about our plans of splitting up later." Lee stated blankly.

"Let's see what this kid wants." Nate suggested while walking towards the stranger. "Well, what do you want?" Nate called to the person standing before them, it was a scrawny light-skinned boy with black hair and a brown jacket,

The boy cleared his throat. "Do you have any supplies I could have? I'm real hungry..."

Nate squinted at the boy.

Lee spoke up, "Why are you alone? Or... do you have any people with you?"

The boy looked nervous; he twiddled his thumbs, double checking the woods to his right.

"Look if you're in trouble, just let us know, we can help." Lee told him.

Suddenly a large bearded man came out of the woods with a shotgun. "Get your gun out, boy!" the man yelled to the boy in the road, in a moment's notice everyone had their guns drawn "So did they say what kind of supplies they got on em?"

"Look we don't want any trouble you put your guns down, and we will do the same." Lee said, attempting to defuse the situation.

"Naw what's going to happen is, you're both putting your guns down and we are taking your shit! Play ball and I might let you keep the other arm!"

Lee looked at the boy. "Look this won't end well both sides are going to suffer if you let him do this." The boy looked panicked unsure what to do.

"Don't listen to em! They will kill you!" the man ordered.

Lee still looking to the boy tried once more "Everything is going to be alright." The boy looked at Lee and dropped his gun and then slumped to the ground in tears.

"YOU LITTLE PISS SHIT! GET YOUR ASS UP!" the man yelled frantically focusing all his attention on the boy.

Suddenly a shot was fired. The large man fell to his knees then, the rest of his body slumped forward; never to move again.

Lee turned to Nate his eyes wide with shock.

Nate returned the stare, "He was just about to kill us Lee. I was just keeping us safe, man."

Lee heard sobbing and slowly turned to look at the boy; not looking forward to the sight.

"Dad? Dad wake up! Dad please!" the boy was pushing on the body of his former father, tears coming down his eyes. Nate crossed his arms and looked away without remorse. Lee began to approach the boy slowly reaching out his hand. The boy turned and screamed: "YOU LIAR!"

Lee stopped and closed his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry."

The boy snapped at him "GO AWAY!"

Nate began to walk to his truck, unconcerned.

Lee stood there, hoping to aid the boy, "Is there... anything I can do?"

"You've done enough. Just go away."

Lee began to walk to the truck, grief-stricken. Suddenly the sound of rustling bushes and yelling could be heard towards the left-most tree-line. _"His people!"_ Lee thought.

"Come on! let's go! The inbred're on the way!" Nate yelled as he started up the truck.

Lee sprinted towards the truck and hopped in before he slammed his door shut.

Nate pushed on the gas, the wheels screeched just before they began speeding away.

Lee looked in the rear view mirror seeing several men around the boy all in panic and disbelief, Lee sighed.

"THAT was intense man, did you see that guy? He was nuts!" Nate stated.

Lee could see through the mediocrity.

"Where are we headed now?" Lee asked in a tired tone of voice.

"Back to Georgia, man. I left an extra special stash of booze up in Athens."

Lee looked out his window and then said: "I'm not going to Athens." Without giving Nate a second glance.

"Why not? We were having" Nate asked, displeased.

"I have other plans."

Nate kept his eyes glued to the road, "Look Lee, you're a good guy I can see that but, good guys don't live very long in this world. I did what I had to do to do, survive."

Lee shook his head without a response.

"Come _on_ man! You know I'm right... I thought we were on our way to becoming friends. Who's going to chase tale and drink booze with me?"

Lee turned to Nate, "Bullshit." He said, glaring at him.

Nate raised his eyebrow "What's Bullshit?"

"You were going run that boy over before I stopped you, how do you justify that? you're a cold blooded killer, Nate. You say you want us to be friends but, really you just want someone to WITNESS your acts of cruelty. Well I'll have no part of it. When we get back to Georgia, I'm leaving on foot and hope we never cross paths again."

"Fine, be a pussy; see if I care." Nate replied.

Neither man spoke for almost an hour; simply driving calmly without further incident.

Lee was looking out the window; scanning the tree-line; hoping to see Clementine walking with Omid and Christa, probably asking moral questions or telling them the funny things she enjoys to do. His heart ached as the road stretched ever onward.

"So what were your plans? Or rather what _are _your plans? You got some place you're heading off to?" Nate inquired casually; hoping to revive the conversation.

"I'm, uh, looking for someone." Lee told him. with tired eyes.

"Someone special?" Nate asked in a teasing manner.

Lee smiled "Yeah, someone special." There was silence yet again as the day began to fade. The road was turning dark. Lee shut his eyes, drifting off...

_He was walking down a narrow road that seemed to go on forever and where you would expect sidewalks and building was just open black space that stretched into infinity,  
__eventually, after walking aimlessly for what felt like an eternity; there was a dead end, the road didn't stretch past this point.  
__He turned around slowly to walk back but, was startled by the sight before him; there were people standing before him, people he knew...  
The girl at the motor inn who shot herself... Doug... Carly... Larry... Mark... Ben... all his friends... the Saint Johns... Chuck... the stranger... the senator... the man who tried to rob him earlier...  
all the people he feels he is responsible for being gone,  
__they had injuries that were fatal, heads shot open, bodies deformed broken or missing limbs and so on.  
The crowd of old friends and foes were repeatedly saying, "Lee…Lee…Lee…Lee…" all in unison... walking closer and closer to him... every single step was also in unison, step…step…step._

Lee sprang awake, panting. His heart was racing he put his hand on his forehead rubbing sweat off. Nate was still driving staring blankly at the road. "Where are we?"

Nate turned and half smirked. "Well my witness, we are in Georgia. You slept like a baby and, there's something you need to know."

"Where in Georgia?" Lee asked, trying to forget his night terror.

"Not too far from Athens. Just following the road..." Nate said in a bored tone.

"Did you see anyone on our way here?"

"Nope just dead guys. You know; about a week ago this old guy shot out my tires, took me HOURS to find new ones."

Lee reached down to grab his black backpack and zipped it before fishing around inside of it, "Want something to eat?" Lee asked, feeling less resentment for him at the current moment.

"No... alright what do'you got?"

Lee pulled out a can of Vienna sausages and shook them. "I always hated the smell of these." Lee said.

"Are you normally this high-maintenance?" Nate asked.

Lee pealed the thin top off and reached into the small can; pulling out a sausage and offering it to Nate. "Here."

"So, when are you going to be taking off? We are in Georgia now."

"I think I'll stick around for a little while; see how things go."

Nate laughed, "Whatever, man... going to have to make your mind up sooner or later. You know; you can tell me if you're having intimate feelings towards me."

Some several minutes later, Lee could see a sign ahead that he was all too familiar with. It was a large white wooden sign with words in green that read, _"You are now entering Athens County"_ Lee felt somewhat uncomfortable as they sped towards his past.

Nate drove for another 15 minutes until he reached the city of Athens. "Well, here we are, I hope nobody took my shit." Nate said

"What, I don't count?" Lee joked.

"Hey! I haven't done nothing wrong by you so, why don't you just zip it?." Nate said as he drove through the looted, damaged, polluted city until he neared the City Hall which, surprisingly enough, like the rest of the city, seemed to have no walkers. The building were mostly light colored and two storied. Eventually, Nate turned the truck and parked the on top of the curb in front of the city-hall building.

"Nice parking job." Lee added, pulling the handle to his door and hopping out onto the pavement.

"Nice arm." Nate returned as he opened his door and stepped out.

Lee frowned, "I was just joking, asshole. Thought that was something you knew a lot about."

Nate laughed. "Well so am I, _asshole_." Nate walked up the white steps and pulled the wooden double doors open before making his way inside the City Hall. When he returned, he was carrying a wooden crate filled with bottles of Rum.

"So we only came here to get shit faced?" Lee inquired.

"Why not? Want a drink?" Nate asked as he walked past Lee and placed the crate down on the passenger's side seat.

"Naw. Need to stay frosty you know? At least one of us does."

Nate pulled out a rum bottle and eyed his torn, blood-stained clothes, "Yeah you're definitely going to stay frosty, if you don't change out of those rags."

Lee scoffed, "Well then point me to the nearest not already ransacked clothing store, then."

"There's store across the street. Go check it out; it'll give you something to do whiling I'm drinking." Nate told him before pulling a dark red rum bottle out of the crate and taking a greedy gulp.

Lee made his way around the truck and across the street. He looked up to see a tan colored building with a big red sign which said, 'Sun blister' He approached the tan colored building which, had large windows along the front like most clothing stores generally would, only one side had been shattered; the other left with a white poster with a '50% off' on it. He entered to see multiple clothing racks knocked over. It was mostly untouched though, pants were folded and hung on the walls, shoe boxes lining the back of the store, sun glasses near the check-out counter and a section of hats.

"Guess I'll look for a shirt first." He noticed a knocked down rack of shirts, he grabbed it by the center and slightly struggled to pick the rack up off of the floor. There were mostly T-shirts on the rack. He chose a Plain white T-shirt; fit for warmer climates. "Okay, now maybe there are some jackets around here? It _is_ going to get cold out eventually." He put his selection in a cardboard box he found lying next to the rack. He approached a rack that appeared to have many assorted jackets. There were hooded sweatshirt's, ski jackets, sleeveless jackets, and leather jackets.

He eyed the leather jackets. "Doesn't look like a walker will be able to bite through any of these." He inferred, as he reached down and picked up a black jacket off the rack and approached the cardboard box he left by the other rack, dropping it into the box. "Shirt and jacket, check." He said as he made his way towards the racks of pants towards the left of the store. There were cargo shorts and pants, skinny jeans, regular jeans, and even skirts. He grabbed a regular pair of Navy blue jeans and placed them in the box with the other clothes.

He then walked towards the hat section near the front of the store, beside the shattered window to the right side of the store. Most of the hats were just many different assorted colors; there was one that said "Georgia" none of the hats seemed to interest him. "Do I really need a hat?" He asked himself as he turned and picked up the box of clothes before making his way to the changing room in the back of the small store.

As he came out of the changing room and looked in the mirror, he eyed the left sleeve, "I should probably cut that off, when I get the chance." He inferred with a sigh. He turned and walked towards the front exit of the store but stopped; there were several walkers stacked up against Nate's truck. He had been drinking and might have fallen asleep inside the truck. "Damn it, Nate" He whispered to himself. "I need to find something to deal with those walkers, I don't have enough ammo and the sound would only draw more of them." He looked around the store for several seconds until he knocked over an empty clothing rack and used his foot to keep it on the ground while using his arm to bend it back and forth, after a few bends, it came off.

He wasted no time; he ran out the front door-towards the truck making it halfway across the street and yelled "HEY! OVER HERE!"

All nine walkers turned their attention to him, slowly pushing themselves off the truck and limping towards the screaming one armed man who was taunting them.

He swung and hit the closest walker over the head with the bent part of the rack, making a nasty crunching noise on impact as it knocked the walking corpse to the ground. He began backing away as they pursued him. Another lunged at him. In response, he stabbed forward, causing it to run itself into the rack; getting penetrated through the eye before falling to the ground, taking the piece of rack with him. He kept on backing up while the seven remaining walkers were still on him, growling furiously.

He began looking to the street for an alternative until he noticed a wooden cane similar to one his father used to have, only, with a metal handle. It was lying in the hand of a deceased old man across the street.

"That should work." He said as he ran towards it.

When he bent down and grabbed it, the small old man sprang up and tried biting Lee's arm but, the leather jacket prevented the bite.

"Shit!" He yelled, backing away from reach a few feet then running up to the old man, gaining momentum before lifting his leg and smashing the old man's head in with a firm stomp into the pavement; it's skull busted in half, releasing dark oil-like blood. Brain matter was visible along the pavement as well.

Before Lee knew it, the rest of the walkers were mere feet away, reaching out and growling furiously.

He managed to dispatch three of the remaining seven; smacking one to his left, then one to his right and one over top of it's head but, he broke the cane in half with the last blow. He turned and began running in the opposite direction; carrying the end which had no handle; just a broken piece of sharp wood. He saw a gated ally between two buildings as he ran. He darted towards it and hopped the gate using his one arm while swinging his legs over the top. He turned and gripped the piece of wood tightly as four more of the dead approached.

They slammed themselves against the gate, reaching their arms out towards him.

Lee then stabbed each of the walkers in the eye one by one with the broken cane half, yelling as he put effort into each strike. When he stabbed the last one he left the cane half in the eye of the walker and laid down on the concrete, "Damn." Lee said as he was catching his breath.

Some time later, he made his way back to the truck to see Nate was still unconscious inside the truck with an empty bottle in his hand. Lee shook his head and opened the door to the driver's side of the truck. Nate was lying against the passenger's side. Lee buckled Nate's seat-belt for him and started up the truck. He drove for twenty minutes through the city; staring at places he used to be a regular at. He eventually stopped in-front of a fine white multistory apartment. Lee looked up at it in remembrance and sighed, it was his and his ex-wive's former home.

It was the place where his life ended.

"I remember the early mornings, waking up and getting ready for work, Making coffee, getting dressed, driving to work, alone for days." He said with sorrow. "I wanted a family but that wasn't my choice, I shouldn't have tried pressuring you into that." He turned the keys, starting up the truck again. "Clementine is out there somewhere, she's the only family I have left. I need to find her."

He drove out of Athens, and eventually past Macon, and stopped on 1365 Macedonia road in the Oconee natural forest after a good deal of time on the road. He turned looked at Nate still sleeping against the passenger's side door. "Asshole." He said as he reached over and opened the glove compartment.

Inside were a bag of coke, some razors for shaving, and a pocket knife. He grabbed the pocket knife and, with some effort, cut the lower left arm of his jacket off. Lee sighed and said: "Don't have an arm, don't need a sleeve." He pulled up the shortened sleeve and examined at the bloody bandage that kept his arm from bleeding out back in Savannah "Need to change that when I get the chance."

Nate's truck was close to empty on fuel, Lee decided to leave a few cans of food for Nate and then got out of the truck. As he was walking away and towards the woods he heard Nate begin to wake up but kept on walking.

"Lee, man... hold up!" Nate called.

Lee stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"Where you headed?" Nate asked.

Lee stared down at the ground as he took a moment to answer before raising his head and answering the quetion the best that he could, "To find my family."

"Good luck man but, you're never going to find them." Nate told him with a scoff.

"Thanks for the ride." Lee said, ignoring what Nate said, determined in his objective.

He walked into the woods, alone.


	3. Rain and leaves

Lee had been walking through the woods for some several hours.

It was cold, dark, and raining. Each step submerged into the mud; splashing his already saturated jeans.

He was truly alone, not even a walker in sight. He kept on for some time, hope beginning to fade. He thought about the boy in the road, even though he tried to rob him, he made that boy believe that everything would be okay. He thought about his family and how he wasn't there when they needed him. He thought about his wife. And most of all, he thought about Clementine.

Minutes stretched on. He eventually stumbled across a small camp that seemed to be abandoned. Three logs, two parallel and one perpendicular to the others made up the camp. There were bits of what appeared to be meth; they looked like chunks of white glass lining the ground around him, also a pair of combat boots resting on a log and some fishing line left by what used to be a log fire.

He placed his backpack down next to the log and sat down, stretching his legs,

"Feels good to finally be off my feet." He turned to eye at the pair of black combat boots sitting beside him. He began forcing off his left shoe; once it was off he looked around to see if any walkers were around, none so far.

He then removed his right shoe, once they were both off he tossed them on to the small charred pieces of wood in front of him. He then grabbed one of the combat boots next to him and began to force it onto his right foot, then the other one. The next part felt like a challenge, tying the boots. He put his leg in his lap and used his teeth to hold one of the laces; this odd attempt at tying shoes paid off, eventually he managed to tie his left boot. He repeated the process with the other boot. Once he finished tying he rolled his jeans over the boots, then eyed his left sleeve,

"Guess I should sew this closed... to keep it from getting infected; if it isn't already."

He pulled out the pocket knife he took from Nate. Then he placed the knife on the log, after he did this he pulled his backpack closer and got out the fishing line he found from earlier, placing it next to the knife. He then unzipped and took off his wet jacket, placing the shorter sleeve on the log, letting the rest of the jacket lie in the mud. He grabbed the knife and placed the tip against the leather sleeve rotating it to cut holes for sewing. After plenty of pain-staking minutes, he successfully carved several holes along the sleeve then put his knife back into his pocket. He placed some of the fishing line through each hole and then tied it at the center,

"Well that should keep it cleaner I suppose." He said while examining his tailor work.

Suddenly he heard the sound men approaching, laughing. He quickly grabbed his backpack and ran to the bushes opposite to where he was sitting.

A moment later, there were three men who had returned to their camp; all were Caucasian. One had short trimmed black hair and a well kept short trimmed beard, he was carrying a rifle, the next was a somewhat overweight man with long blonde hair and a beard, he was carrying a stick with four fish on it, and the last was a man with semi-short messy brown hair and a soul patch below his lip, he was holding a fishing pole. All were wearing camouflage-jackets. A certain feature stood out the most; he wasn't wearing any shoes… Lee began slowly backing away from the camp; hoping they wouldn't notice that anything was missing.

The man with the fishing pole looked around the camp and said: "Alright, Jim where the fuck did you put my boots?"

Jim, the man large man with long blonde hair and beard, turned to face him with frown of his own, "Fuck off, Troy! I didn't take your boots."

Troy scoffed angrily, sticking a finger in his face as he retorted, "I know you did something with them! Boots don't just walk away!"

The third man spoke up: "Are you seriously going to start a fuss over some fucking combat boots? Why did you leave them in the first place?; they're obviously wet now so the, 'I didn't want my boots to get wet at the river' excuse doesn't make much sense."

Troy then turned to the third man who was holding the rifle. "Well, Steve how do I know you didn't take em, huh?" Troy accused.

Jim then said: "Maybe because there's a guy right over there trying to sneak away? Maybe that's a possibility?"

Troy turned his glare. Lee was already running after hearing Jim's comment.

"What the fuck! couldn't you have just shot him instead of being a smart-ass?" Troy complained.

Troy and the others began running after him. Lee darted past trees and hopped over their roots, unbalanced from only having one arm but, not slowing down.

"Just shoot him, Steve!" Troy demanded.

"Oh. Fuck!" Lee said as he heard a shot fired several meters from behind, the bullet whizzed by him.

After a short duration of time running, he had managed to get out of their sight, so he hid behind a tree, panting as his chest rose and fell rapidly. The three men stopped running ten feet away from the tree where he was hiding.

"Are we really gonna kill this guy over a pair of fucking boots?" Jim asked, breathing heavily.

"Nobody steals from me! And we wouldn't even be doing this if you hadn't let him know that you saw him! Let's split up, he couldn't have gone far." Troy ordered.

Jim and Steve started in different directions. Lee peaked around the trunk of the tree after the noises from their foots steps ceased; Troy's back was turned, he was holding a 9mm pistol in his hand, aimed to the heavens at an equal level to his head. Lee began to approach him from behind; taking care with every step. When he was a mere three feet away he had stepped on a weak stick; making a loud crunch noise. Troy spun around but Lee quickly grabbed his gun but, still Troy managed to fire the gun upward, Lee then proceeded to head-butt Troy in the nose, releasing his grip on the gun.

"AH! FUCK! YOU ASSHOLE!" Troy yelled, grabbing his nose.

He then proceeded hit Troy with the butt of the gun, knocking him out cold.

Jim and Steve began running back yelling "Troy did you find him?!"

Lee began running away without looking back. As he ran, there were several walkers ahead of him. He aimed Troy's gun but. reconsidered,

"If I shoot, those guy are going to come running this way." He stopped and took off his backpack and unzipping it. He then put Troy's gun into his backpack before zipping it back up and swinging it over his back. He began running in the diagonal direction with a clearing among the group of incoming walkers. Once he was sure he was far enough away from all dangers, he started walking. He began gasping to catch his breath, coughing and all,

"I really hope Clementine isn't having it as bad as I am."

He kept on walking. It was still pouring down rain but, over time, it started to get worse,

"I need to find a safe place to sleep..." He stated, shivering from the brutal cold.

He began surveying his surroundings, he looked up at the trees. He looked into the distance, he then noticed a fallen tree to his right. "That might work." He said as he jogged towards it.

He took off his backpack and tossed it inside the hollow trunk of the tree. Then he crawled inside after it and rolled onto his back and stared at the bark above him. "What a day." He said before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep…

_Lee was sitting on his bed, staring out of the window as the sun was setting. He eyed the RV Kenny was working on; the fisherman occasionally punched it in frustration. Lee put his head in his hands, trying to forget about what happened with the Saint Johns. His door was open, Lilly walked by, stopping to look at him but it wasn't the usual stare she gave everyone, she had a sad look on her face as though all happiness and hope had vanished from her life. She kept walking, neither of them uttering a word. He slouched over and stared at the ground. _

_Someone began knocking on the door frame._

_He looked up to see who it was; Clementine._

_"Are you okay?" Clementine asked. _

_Lee smiled at her and said: "Yeah I'm okay." _

_She walked over to him and sat next to him, leaning on him. "Lee... I'm worried." Clem stated with sad eyes looking up at him. _

_"Why?" Lee replied with concern. _

_She looked out the window in front of them, "Lily is really sad." _

_He looked down at Kenny working on the RV, through the window, "Losing someone you love is... never easy, it's the saddest thing in the world..." Lee told her. She proceeded to look at him with tire, fatigued eyes. "It'll take some time but, she will be okay." He told her with a slow nod of his head._

_Clementine looked down towards the ground, "I hope so..."_

He slowly opened his eyes only to look up at bark. He grabbed his backpack and began using his legs to pull his way out. Once he was out, he stood up and straightened his back as he stretched his arm and put on his backpack. The day was bright and fresh, light beaming down between the tall trees. He turned around to begin walking but, stopped dead in his tracks and began walking back slowly.

Two grey wolves were slowly advancing towards him, growling and glaring and flashing their K-9's. He slowly pulled out his pocket knife. Still backing away he said in a calming voice: "Easy now, I'm not going to hurt you. Easy now... _easy _now.

The wolves continued in his direction snarling angrily at him.

He kept backing away from the two menacing wolves before him.

The wolves stopped growling and walking towards him.

He exhaled in relief.

Suddenly they dashed at him, his eyes widened as the adrenaline coursed through his body. One of the wolves jumped at him; he lunged and stabbed the wolf turning himself with its momentum losing the knife and landing on his knees as the wolf fell a few feet away. The second wolf bit down on his boot, causing him to fall like a stone into the dirt; dragging him back a few feet, then the wolf jumped on his back, biting at the upper part of his jacket. He flipped over on his side and elbowed the wolf several times in the nose. After several hits, the wolf backed off. He got back on his feet before the wolf lunged at him again; this time, he kicked the wolf in the jaw then stomped its head into the ground, holding it in place.

He stared at the whimpering, struggling wolf whose neck was being firmly stepped on to avoid escape. His facial expression changed from fearful, angry instinct to sympathy. He lifted his leg, instantly the wolf ran off, whimpering. He watched the wolf as it ran away, eventually it was out of his sight.

He approached the body of the dead wolf, crimson blood covering it's neck and front legs. He bent down and said: "I'm sorry." He slid the knife out of the animal's neck before wiping it on his jeans. He closed it and placed it back in his pocket. He then grabbed his backpack off of the ground, put it on yet again and began walking without direction through the forest.

"I probably should find a map to organize where I have been. There's got to be a park ranger sight somewhere." Lee inferred while walking through the now visible forest.

He heard chirping coming from above; he looked up seeing a brown thrasher watching it's babies start to hatch, He didn't think much and kept moving. The woods were much more beautiful during the day. He, for once in a long while didn't feel tense. However his moment of peace was diminished when he heard a set of gunshots coming from the north-west direction of where he was standing.

"I probably shouldn't." He decided, trying to forget about it.

However he heard two more gunshots and summoned up the strength to run in the direction of the shots. After a short time running, he could see figures ahead. When he was close enough to see, it was the three men he had been chased by the previous day; they had killed two men and had guns pointed at a woman and a small girl. Troy was beating a man senselessly, the woman and the girl's eyes filled with tears as they yelled out to Troy to show mercy.

"JUST STOP! PLEASE!" the woman yelled trying to advance to help the man being beaten, only to be shoved back.

"DADDY!" the young girl yelled as she ran towards him.

Jim grabbed the girl and wrapped his arm around her head, leading one to assume he meant to snap her neck. The parents had a look of sheer horror and fear.

"NO, NO! JUST LEAVE HER!" The father called before being pummeled with yet another hit to the face, knocking him down into the dirt.

Lee had seen enough, he pulled out his snub nosed revolver aimed and fired. His first shot hit Jim in the back of the skull, instantly killing him. The girl landed on her feet and ran to her mother as the large blond tower of a man fell limp. Troy and Steve turned and fired several shots at Lee as he moved to cover behind a tree.

The girl and her mother ran to safety some couple of yards away, the man who was being beaten was still on the ground. Lee peeked around the tree only to have three more shots fired at him. He peaked out the other side only a single shot was fired, a rifle. Lee realized that one of them has run out of ammo and their only gun with any ammo was a bolt action rifle.

He then quickly flashed his shortened arm out of cover, resulting in another shot being fired. After it did, he jumped out of cover and took aim, shooting and killing Steve with expert precision; the man fell back, along with his rifle. He drew on Troy but, couldn't fire sine he had made a desperate attempt to survive by pulling a knife out and taking the man he has beaten hostage, edging the knife close to his throat.

Troy stared at Lee with a glare and said: "Yeah, party's over, pal. Hand over the gun, or I slit his throat."

The woman and young girl began sobbing and looking away.

Lee looked a the hostage; he was somewhat tall, Caucasian but, well tanned. He had brown hair that draped just below his ears. His face was bloody and bruised; he stared at Lee and slightly shook his head, frowning, as if he wanted Lee to just kill him, regardless of his safety.

"Will you let him go?" Lee asked, raising a brow.

Troy didn't answer his question, "Just do as I've told you; don't gotta make this any more difficult."

Lee frowned, "Fine." Lee began to slowly walk towards Troy with his revolver turned facing himself, the butt of the gun pointing at Troy. When the gun was a mere foot away from his reach, Troy dropped the man and reached for the gun Lee was bringing to him. Once the man was out of the way of harm, in the blink of an eye Lee flipped the revolver and fired, the kick of the gun bringing his hand back.

Troy's hand dripped crimson red blood, it shook rapidly. Lee had fired clean through his hand, a small hole visible through all the blood.

"AHHHHH! FUCK! You SHOT my HAND! YOU DICK!" Troy yelled, instantly dropping the knife as he grabbed his hand in pain, kneeling down in agony.

Lee aimed the gun at Troy's face, cocking the gun as he gave him a grim look.

Troy looked up at him stuttering frantically, nothing could save him at this point, "P-Please, man! Don't kill me! I'm too young to die!"

Lee glared at him angrily, showing teeth.

"YOU'RE too young to die? What about that girl over there? Is she too young to die too? While your guy was about to kill her with his bare hands!?"

Troy got to his feet, shuffling himself back as he held his hand trying to keep his hand from bleeding any further. "I'm sorry man I-I really am! Just let me live, I'll change! I mean, now I guess we're all even, two of my friends are dead-and uh, my hand here... PLEASE...!" Troy pleaded.

"Get out of here." Lee ordered, holding his glare.

Troy instantly darted away, holding his hand. Once he was gone, the beaten man slowly stumbled to his feet, his family came running with tears of joy,

"Dad!" the young girl with brown hair jumped into her dads arms both smiling and crying happily.

"My girl! I thought I had lost you!"

Lee smiled, glad he had ran towards the gunshots.

The mother of the girl walked towards Lee hands over her mouth crying,

"Thank you, sir, thank you so much..."

Lee looked at her with a smile. "Don't mention it."

The father got to his feet, holding hands with his daughter to his left, his wife to his right, her arm around his back as they walked towards Lee. He raised a brow with a grin, and outstretched his hand.

The two shook hands.

"Names Gerry." The father said.

"Lee"

"And I'm Linda." The woman said.

"Nice to meet you all." Lee said with a smile.

The girl walked up to Lee, for a second they stared at each other. She looked up at him as if he were a superhero; eyes wide with admiration.

"Hey there." Lee said, smiling.

The girl hugged him abruptly and said: "Thank you for saving my daddy." in a small, high pitched voice.

"Couldn't just let anything happen to you guys." He told her, patting her head.

She then went to stand beside her parents. Lee looked at the bodies of the two people he had killed, and the two who were dead before he arrived. One with orange-like hair and tan skin; the other dark-skinned and bald.

"Friends of yours?" Lee asked.

"We met these two a few days ago, they were... good people." Gerry said with a sad look on his bruised face. "They shared food with us when they barely had enough for themselves."

"What were their names?" Lee asked.

"Quintus and Jacob." Gerry told him, pointing as he named them; first the redhead then the black guy.

Lee felt as though he had heard the name Quintus before.

"I'm sorry." Lee said.

The man turned to his family. "At least they are okay, I can't tell you how grateful I am."

Lee looked at him and asked: "Have you met anyone named Christa, Omid or... Clementine?"

Gerry wiped his right cheek and said: "Nope, sorry. Can't say that I have."

Lee looked at the family of brunet; considering sticking together, "So what's your family's next move?"

"I'm not sure." He replied. "Would it be fine if we came with you? I know you have already done so much but, I'm not in any condition to protect my family and you seem to be able to handle yourself."

Lee looked at him, giving him a nod with a quick grin, "Sounds like a plan, we should probably get moving, walkers might have heard those shots."

"You're right, let's move." Gerry agreed.

The four of them quickly began moving away from the area together.

"I found a good spot to pitch camp and I think I have an idea for how to keep us all safe once we get there; for the night at-least." Lee said while leading in the direction of the area he had slept the night before.

As they were walking the girl walked up beside his left flank, and eyed his missing arm curiously.

"What happened to your arm?" She asked, concern in her voice.

Lee turned and looked down at her, and with a half smirk he said: "You never told me your name."

"Lily." She said.

"'Lilly' huh? I had a friend named Lilly once." Lee told her.

"What happened to her?" she inquired.

"She left the group I was in, I don't know where she is now."

"Okay." She said looking at his missing arm, more interested in it currently.

"I lost my arm protecting someone." Lee stated.

"Who were you protecting?" She asked curiously.

Lee looked ahead and with a smile he said: "My family."

She frowned, "But, who?"

Lee looked at her and asked: "How old are you?" Trying to change the subject, since it was a sensitive matter.

"Seven."

"Cool."

She kept staring at him while they were walking. "You didn't answer my question." She demanded.

Lee suddenly had, déjà vu, which brought him a feeling of sorrow in his chest.

He sighed and said: "When all this started, I met a girl a little older than you."

She listened intently.

"Her name was Clementine."

Lily looked confused.

"Then how is she family?"

Lee lifted an eyebrow and with a smile he asked: "What?"

"You said, she was your 'family' but you're not related, are you?"

Lee thought about what she said for a moment, "Sometimes it takes more than blood to be a family."

Lily considered this.

Gerry spoke up, "Getting to know each other?"

Lily turned and said: "Yep."

Lee saw the tree trunk from the night before straight ahead.

"Here we are."

The parents looked confused.

"How is this a good spot, Lee? I mean I'm not questioning or anything, I'm just wondering..." Linda asked.

"One of you and the girl can sleep in the tree trunk, less risk if something comes trotting out of the woods. Don't worry; I slept the whole night in there." Lee explained.

"So what about you and me?" Gerry asked, indicating that he wanted Linda and Lily to sleep in the trunk.

"I have fishing wire which I can tie around these trees and then we could can hang something on the wire; alerting us if anything stumbles upon us."

Gerry liked this idea, scratching his chin as he nodded his head, "Alright, sounds good."

Lee dropped his backpack and unzipped it, he then dug around for the fishing wire from before.

Linda noticed that Lee had some canned food; scratching her arm she asked: "Lee um, I was wondering…"

Lee smirked and said: "You guys want some food?"

"If that's okay with you of course." She added.

Lee pulled out a can of peaches, but, before handing it off, he stared at the girl on the can; she had pigtails... reminding him of Clementine.

Linda noticed his sad expression, "Oh um, I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

Lee interjected: "No it's not that, I'm just a little tired is all." He assured her before he placed the can down and pulled out his pocket knife. "This knife probably isn't all that clean... you wouldn't happen to have anything else that would work, would you?" He asked.

Linda pulled out a green pocket knife of her own, from her left jean pocket. "I haven't had to use this yet." She told him while handing it to him.

Lee placed the can on the ground, he then stabbed the top of the can of peaches in four different places then pulled the lid back with the knife. "Here." He handed the knife back, along with the can.

She looked inside the can, pleased, "Thank you, Lee." Linda handed a sliced peach to Lily.

She ate it greedily. "I wonder if daddy is okay, his face looks hurt." She inferred.

Lee turned to look at Gerry. "You okay, man?"

Gerry was wiping his face with a blue cloth at this point, looking more dark purple then red with blood as he continued wiping. "That guy back there must have got me pretty good." Gerry assumed.

Lee got closer to examine him. "Your cheek and eye are swollen pretty badly; I would go without cleaning that." Lee told him.

Gerry looked at him and said: "I'll be fine, what was your idea for keeping us safe?"

"The fishing wire." Lee said while walking over to his backpack he left with Linda and Lily, just behind him.

"What are you doing?" Lily inquired.

"Lily, don't bother Lee okay? He's trying to work." Linda told her.

"It's alright, Linda." Lee said.

Lily turned to her mother and stuck her tongue out at her then walked up beside Lee.

"I'm going to tie something around these trees so we will know if any monsters are around." Lee told her.

"Can I help?" Lily asked.

"Sure, you can go pick off pieces of brush off that tree and bring them here for hanging; that would help me out a lot." Lee said with a smile.

Lily ran towards the tree covered in brush next to Gerry and snapped off some brushes.

Lee grabbed the fishing wire out from his backpack, "Tying isn't so easy nowadays." Lee said.

Linda approached and took the wire and tied it to the tree closest to the fallen tree he had slept in.

"Thanks Linda."

"Sure thing, Lee."

Lee took the wire then began making his way to the next tree walking around it then ducking over his line, he repeated this process of taking a lap around each tree. After 2 minutes he had finished, he reached the first tree that Linda had tied.

"Let me get that for you, Lee." Linda offered.

Lee handed her the wire roll, she began tying it around the tree. The string went around seven trees, plenty of space for their camp.

"Hey Lee I got all the bits of brush off that tree for you." Lily told him, smiling, holding a large bit of sticks with several green leaves on them, a pile beside her.

"Thanks, Lily." Lee said. while approaching the pile she made. He picked up one and hung it on the line. Lily handed him another one before picking up her own; they worked together; this procedure continued until the line had no more room for bits of brush.

"Are we done?" Lily asked.

"Yep all done. You can go sit with your mom now if you want to."

"What happened to Clementine?" Lily asked, catching him off guard.

"Nothing." Lee replied, hoping she would drop the subject.

"Then where is she?" Lily asked.

Lee sighed and shook his head, "We thought what happened with my arm was going to kill me, so I made her leave me."

"So, who took your arm away?" Lily asked.

Lee stared at his left sleeve and frowned.

"A monster." He said.

"What happened to the monster?" Lily asked.

"He's gone now." Lee told her.

Lily looked satisfied, she walked to her mother without commenting on what Lee told her.

**Several hours later...**

Lee was sitting in front of the fire he made, staring blankly at it. Linda, Gerry, and Lily were finishing off the peaches he gave them earlier. The afternoon was fading, crickets could be heard at this point.

"Mom mosquitoes are biting me." Lily complained, smacking her arms.

Linda yawned and said: "Goodnight, boys."

Gerry kissed his wife and daughter and said: "Goodnight, girls."

Lily and Linda crawled into the tree. Lee was still lost in thought.

Gerry looked at Lee unsure and said: "Lee you alright, buddy?"

Lee flinched and looked at him. "Yeah I'm fine."

"I have been listening to the things you and Lily have been discussing."

Lee didn't give a physical response, he was too lost in thought. "Okay."

Gerry sighed and said: "It's a long shot you know? The chances are slim that you will-"

Lee frowned and interrupted him. "Any chance is good enough for me. This is my business."

Gerry gave up with that, shrugging. "Thank you for saving my family. It was the most selfless, courageous, thing I have ever seen anyone do in my entire life."

Lee half smiled and with tired eyes he replied: "I honestly don't know what sent me in that direction."

Gerry rubbed his chin and said: "Maybe you thought it was that little girl, um, Clementine; in trouble."

Lee thought about it. "Maybe you're right."

Both men on opposite sides of the fire fell asleep, After a long period of time, the sound of the leaves rustling was heard.

**Fun-fact: I don't know if anyone caught this, since I didn't give many clues at all but, Steve is Carly's Co-worker. He's the guy who was on the radio she couldn't get working for some arbitrary reason. She says his name during his live report before signing off. Also, the gunshots are a type of foreshadowing ;)**


	4. Out of the woods

Lee slowly opened his eyes to see what, if anything, made the brush shake. Half asleep, he rubbed one of his eyes and looked at the very well lit fire that appeared to have been given more wood by, probably Gerry. He saw nobody, only Gerry, so he shrugged and laid back down; assuming it was just the wind. Suddenly, he heard a scream coming from the fallen tree; where the Linda and Lilly were sleeping. Instantly, he sprang up and sprinted to the tree just a few meters away, once he got to the tree he saw the lower half of a walker inside the truck.

"Hold on!" He yelled as he grabbed the walker by the ankle and pulled him out of the tree, one handed.

The walker reached towards him and tried biting at his leg but, was met with a hard kick to the face, the one-armed man then proceeded to repeatedly stomp at the walkers head, yelling while doing so, eventually there was no face left to be seen from the walker, a large bloody gash in it's place.

"Man… are you girls alright?" He asked, turning to look them beside the fire.

Gerry was checking his daughter up and down for any bite marks. "They're fine." Gerry said with a cold tone.

"Why did you relight the fire? I kept it low for a reason." Lee questioned.

Gerry didn't reply.

Linda spoke up: "We need to get the hell out of these forests, there's no food, we can't light fires, apparently, and we have no shelter from walkers."

Lee was about to reply but, Gerry spoke up, "Lee I know what you're going to say, and your wrong; your little girl isn't here, if she is still alive she probably found one of those big camps to join up with, nobody would stay in any of these forests for long. We've been here for awhile, we know."

Lee considered this. "Where do you guys want to go?"

Linda looked to Gerry then looked back to Lee. "My sister went to join up with a camp here in Georgia. It's expanding well, I'm sure."

"This place was worth it, right?" Lee inquired, doubtfully.

"It's secure and more and more people are popping up there." Linda told him.

"Well, then why didn't you guys go there with her before?" Lee asked, skeptical about the whole idea.

"We went looking for my dad in Athens." Linda told him.

Lee thought about the idea. If this place is safe, plus there's a chance he'd find Clem, it might be worth seeing. "Alright fine let's get moving north to Athens, maybe we can find a car or something to get us moving faster." Lee proposed.

Lily looked very nervous, twiddling her fingers and shaking, "Mommy can we just go home?"

Linda sighed and looked at her daughter with tired eyes then got down to her level, putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "No, baby it isn't safe there anymore."

Lee felt guilty, as though he endangered this family. "I'm ready, whenever you guys are."

Gerry was glaring at him but, softened his expression. "Sure, we're ready to go."

With that, Lee began walking in the direction of the road he left Nate on, the family followed just behind. After an hour of walking, with Lee still leading the small group, Lily walked up beside Lee and stared up at him curiously, saying nothing.

Lee turned to greet her with a small smile. "Hey there."

"Do you miss your arm?" Lily asked.

Lee took a moment to reply. "All the time." he said in a soft-spoken manner.

"Is it harder to do things with only one arm?" Lily asked quietly.

Lee looked ahead and said calmly: "Life is a little harder with only one arm, I can't tie my shoes very well, I can't carry two things, and I probably won't be learning any chords on the guitar either." He joked.

Lily giggled at that.

Lee smiled and continued: "Life is even harder when you're not with your family, I cut it off so I could help the only person who never gave up on me when times were tough."

Lily smiled and said: "That's really nice of you."

Lee looked at his arm and smiled; finding something positive in a tragic loss. "Yeah."

After another few hours they reached the road, finally out of the woods they were in direct sunlight, all exhausted.

"Okay well I don't see any cars anywhere, just trash." Gerry said, looking into the direction of Athens city.

"Well how about a truck?" Nate called from the opposite direction.

"Aw, shit..." Lee whispered.

"Hello Sir! Could you give us a ride into Athens?" Linda asked.

Lee interjected: "No, no, we'll be fine, we just have to keep walking that way." Lee began making his way down the road away from Nate.

Nate laughed and said: "Well, Lee you made some friends! Hop in everyone!"

Nobody moved, Gerry and Linda were unsure of the past Lee had with this man they had just met.

"Lee, just get in the damn truck." Nate said, annoyed, "You seriously going to let these people die of dehydration?"

Gerry placed his hand on Lee's shoulder, "Lee it's safer to drive than to walk; we have to accept this ride."

Lee turned back to face Nate, "Fine." He consented.

As they approached the truck Lee whispered: "You guys sit in the back..."

Gerry nodded and as they reached the truck, Lily, Linda, and Gerry hopped in the back. Lee threw his backpack in the truck-bed with the others and got in the passenger's seat yet again.

"So I guess I was right, huh? Lee" Nate stated, feeling victorious.

"We left for their own safety." Lee said, carelessly slamming the truck door closed.

"Yeah whatever, man." Nate said before picking his nose with the same kind of carelessness.

Lee turned to check on the family then looked back ahead.

"What is it with you people? Always so fucking rude; just accept a ride when it comes your way. You're no better than me." Nate ranted.

Lee kept staring but, he frowned, "You people?"

"Yeah, I think you know what I mean..." Nate said without rethinking it.

Lee never kept his eyes away from him, "Fuck you, Nate."

"Fuck you, Lee there was no way that guy was going to let up; so feel bad all you want but, it's not my fault." Nate reasoned.

Lee kept looking ahead.

"I don't blame you for that; I had a similar experience with a woman in the woods, but, were you really going to run that kid over? Is that a thing you do normally?"

"Lee what is this shit? You going to give me a talk about God or some shit?" Nate said, agitated.

Lee turned to him and said: "Let's just leave the past in the past, then."

Nate half grinned, "About fucking time." Nate looked in his rear-view mirror to get a visual of the small family, "So what's their story?"

"I heard gunshots and went running towards them, found three guys attacking them."

Nate scoffed "Yeah I see, so you were the hero of the day right?"

Lee looked out at the trees beside him and continued: "Anyway, they told me that they were looking for someone in Athens before, and that there is a large camp somewhere here in Georgia that's apparently pretty secure."

Nate looked at his steering wheel, the fabric was wearing off, he poked at it with his thumb. "That's not very descriptive of them, is it?"

Lee shrugged and looked ahead seeing a few walkers here and there. Nate rolled his window down and stuck his head out, "HEY! WHATS YOUR CAMP CALLED!?" He yelled through the wind accumulated from the speed they were traveling.

Linda answered: "HOWE'S!"

Nate pressed a button, raising his window back up, "See that? That's something you need to know."

Lee rolled his eyes, "If you say so."

"So why are you guys going to Athens?" Nate asked.

"We are going to find a suitable car to travel in." Lee said.

Nate looked at Lee with a brow raised, "You know what you're sitting in right?"

Lee felt unsure about his next question, "So you want to go to Howe's with us?"

Nate began picking at his index finger with his thumb, "Maybe, if there are some very pretty ladies there for us."

Lee ignored that, and asked: "So you managed to find some gas in these two days?"

Nate looked at the gas needle, "Half full, I found something to do while you went running through a random forest looking for random people."

Lee opened the glove compartment; he began shuffling through it contents, "Got any maps in here?"

Nate kept his eye on the road and said: "I did have a nice pocket knife in there... I wonder who took that…"

Lee pulled out Nate's pocket knife. "Here." He dropped it in the glove compartment and closed it.

Nate then in a sarcastic tone said: "Huh? Lee how could you!? I trusted you!"

Lee shook his head in disbelief of this man's lack of maturity. "Well, you know I did leave a good amount of food here for you."

Nate replied: "Whatever, tasted like rat shit anyway."

Lee didn't reply.

"So uh, why are we heading to Athens? Don't ya'll need a 'ride'?"

"We need a map so we know where the camp is as I already pointed out." Lee said.

Nate slammed on his brakes.

Gerry nearly fell out but, he held onto the side skirt of the truck, "Whoa! What's going on up there?!" Gerry complained.

Nate pressed a button on his door, bringing down his window, he poked his head out. "Nothing, just sit tight for a minute, but, uh could the lady come here for a sec?"

Lee frowned. "What the fuck, Nate?"

"Nothing, I've got a map, jackass." Nate replied while watching Linda approach the driver's side of the truck.

"Everything okay, guys?" Linda asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Mmm, well, sweet cheeks Lee has informed me that we are going to Athens for a map."

"Yes, that's uh, right…" Linda replied uncomfortably.

Nate pulled out a map from under his seat and handed it to her.

"So where would Howe's be at?"

Linda unfolded the map and examined it. "Right here." She pointed.

"On Perry highway near fort valley… Lee we're going the wrong way, okay hop back in, sugar tits oh! and thanks for the help."

Linda rolled her eyes and made her way to the back. "Asshole." She said under her breath.

Lee shook his head. Nate started up the truck and began turning the truck around.

"So, Nate what was your job before the plague?"

Nate ignored his irrelevant question. "So you think your family might have made their way over to this camp? Worth a look, until it's not."

Lee looked towards the horizon, there was a large dark cloud ahead. "I don't know." Lee said half paying attention. "Nate would you do me a favor?" Lee asked.

Nate kept looking ahead.

"Whaaaat?" Nate asked, dreading their conversation.

"Could you pull over, slowly this time and let me swap seats with them?"

Nate turned to face him. "Why?"

Lee looked at back at Lily. "It's going to rain in a little while, don't want all of them in the back."

Nate slowly pushed the brakes. "Go on, Mr. Witness." Nate mocked.

Lee opened his door and stepped out. "So, one of you and Lily should sit in the front, it's going to rain pretty soon."

Linda automatically spoke up. "Gerry you go up front, I don't want those gashes on your face to get much rain."

Gerry nodded and carried Lily out of the back, Lee hopped in the back.

When Gerry slammed the door shut, they sped off, almost on que. After a few minutes, Linda spoke up over the sound of wind rushing by their ears "Not so much fun in the back huh?"

"It's a little chilly with the speed we're going." Lee replied.

"Yeah, well get used to it, winter starts next month."

"Well, we should find Lily a nice jacket."

Linda smiled at that. "You two seem to be getting along pretty well."

Lee looked beside him to check on them, Lily was resting on her dad while he rambled on to Nate about something, Nate looked very bored.

"She's always very straight forward, all the time." Lee inferred.

"You can blame that on Gerry."

Lee laughed.

Linda continued. "I bet she reminds you of that Clementine you two keep talking about."

Lee looked saddened by that comment. "I don't know..."

"Oh uh, I'm sorry Lee I didn't mean to upset you."

Lee looked at her and said: "You remind me of a friend of mine."

"Oh? Who?" she asked.

"A woman named, Christa, she was always letting her boyfriend go first and babying him."

Linda laughed. "You think I baby Gerry?"

Lee smirked. "Not, 'babying' exactly."

She continued laughing, but the humor ended when they began feeling drops of water hit them.

"Well, here comes the rain." Linda said.

A moment later the rain began falling heavily, Nate sped up a bit, occasionally roughly turning to dodge a car or a walker.

Lee turned to Linda to see all her hair was soaked and sticking to her face.

"Like my hair?" Linda joked.

"Sure don't." Lee replied.

Linda kicked him and she continued laughing; despite the weather conditions. Half an hour later Nate turned down an intersection, Howe's warehouse was well in sight.

"Well that's got to be it." Lee inferred.

Nate drove into the empty parking lot and stopped to examine the place.

"WELL? WHERE ARE THE SURVIVORS?!" Nate yelled to Lee through the rain.

Suddenly a woman called from the roof of the warehouse, turning everyone's attention to the heavens. "GO AROUND BACK!"

Nate drove to the back of Howe's to see one open loading port, where moving vans would normally back goods into the store. At the entrance were two people, a younger man maybe mid-twenties with brown hair and a machete strapped to his back, the other was an older man maybe late forties with a large brown fur-lined jacket on. Nate, Gerry and Lily got out of the truck and began walking towards the two people, Lee and Linda followed not far behind.

"Hello, everyone I'm Luke, and this is Bill." The younger man to the left greeted, somewhat awkwardly.

The older man, presumably Bill, spoke up, "Welcome, please don't cause any trouble and contribute as best you can, Luke will show you the place. I need to take care of some things; welcome again."

Luke rolled his eyes as Bill walked towards the stair case beside him, "So, what are your names?"

Lee stepped forward "Name's Lee, this is, Gerry, and his wife Linda, and their daughter, Lily." He introduced, motioning his hand towards each of the family members beside him.

Nate frowned, "And I'm Nate, thanks for asking."

Luke smiled. "Well it's very good to meet y'all; let me show you the place." Luke turned around and walked towards the empty isles with orange tents put up inside for privacy. There were also, large yellow generators and thick red chords visible throughout the floors of the building; most likely powering the lights and any other outlets.

"This is where most people sleep." Luke said while leading the group.

"Wow, there are a lot of people here." Lily said.

"Yup Bill has our scouting parties search through Georgia for other survivors and some, like you people, just show up. And when we don't find others, we usually find places to scavenge." Luke explained.

A Pakistani man approached Luke holding a radio; he was balding and had a short trimmed beard. "Hey! Luke! I got your radio working. Try not to drop it again, will you?" the man asked.

"Thanks, Reggie." Luke said as he took back his radio, staring down at it, "Hey, have you seen Carlos anywhere?"

"Oh, I think he's checking up on Stewart in the armory." Reggie replied.

"Ah, okay, thanks. See you later, Reggie." Luke told him, patting his left shoulder before walking past him.

Reggie turned his attention to Lee and the others as they followed Luke. "Good to see some new faces. We can get better acquainted later I hope." Reggie told them with a friendly smile.

"Looking forward to it." Gerry said, sounding completely uninterested as he passed him.

"Okay that's, Reggie, he likes to make small talk but, he's a fun guy." Luke said.

"Do you know where I might find my sister?" Linda asked.

Luke turned slightly while leading them. "You want to check in with Rebecca, she is usually up in Bill's office making announcements and what not."

The intercom screeched on. "_Attention, Bill requires extra hands for tomorrow's scavenging tomorrow_. _Thank you._" A woman's voice boomed through the warehouse.

Luke laughed. "That's her, she keeps the clip board of all the new people, so, you'll be seeing her anyway."

Lee looked among-st the tents, hoping to see Clementine. The group approached a red door.

"Here is the armory, now if I were you, I'd just not poke around unless you have permission from Bill; he can be difficult to reason with."

Nate spoke up. "Why? Is that where he keeps all the booze?"

Luke rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, anyway lets meet Carlos, he is our doctor." He pushed open the Armory door to see Carlos, a Hispanic man with a black mustache and slicked back hair, stitching an over weighted bearded Caucasian man's shoulder.

"Gaaah fuuuck!" Stewart groaned painfully, gripping his exposed arm just below his right shoulder tightly.

"Calm down, and stop squirming." Carlos demanded.

"Hey Carlos! Meet-"

"Not now, Luke." Carlos told him.

Luke shrugged and shut the armory door, "Okay um, he's the doctor. Rebecca is up in carver's office; the stairs to his office are over there in the corner opposite to us, I'll let you guys get to know the place for a bit on your own." Luke told them.

"Thanks for showing us around." Lee said.

"No problem." Luke replied as he walked off.

"We should go check in with Rebecca, see if your sister is still here." Lee suggested.

"I agree, don't want to skip procedure and get kicked out." Gerry said.

"Mommy... I'm hungry." Lily said as she tugged on her mother's blue shirt.

"We'll go get something to eat after we finish up with this Rebecca lady."

With that, they all began making their way to and up the stairs to the office Luke pointed out. At the top of the stairs was, a large black man with glasses and a dark grey jacket.

"Okay, Bec, I'll go take care of it." He said to whoever was in the room as he made his way down the stairs quickly saying: "Hey guys." As he kept rushing.

Lee entered the office with the others following just behind. Once all were inside the office, they saw a woman shuffling papers next to what appeared to be controls for the microphone she was previously using for the intercom no less.

"I guess you're the new people." Rebecca said while picking up a clipboard and approaching the group.

"Yeah we-" Lee said before being cut off.

"Write your names here please." She ordered, showing them the clipboard as she pointed to it.

Lee took the clipboard and placed it on the desk and wrote his full name then, handed it to Gerry he wrote his families names and handed it to Nate beside him, who did the same then handed it back to Rebecca saying: "Here, beautiful."

She examined it and handed it back. "Mr. Everett please mention your disability please."

Lee frowned and wrote 'Amputee' as she held the board for him.

Rebecca took the clipboard and placed it on the desk. "Mr. and Mrs. Davis do either of you or your daughter have any medical issues?"

They looked at each other then back to her and said: "No ma'am."

"And you, sir?" She asked, turning to Nate.

"Nope." He said, smiling and still intently scanning anywhere but her eyes.

"Alright, everybody, eventually Bill will give you jobs to do. Nothing too hard really, he just wants to make sure everyone contributes evenly."

Lee nodded. "I could help with that scavenging job he's got going on tomorrow."

Rebecca ignored that. "Any other questions?"

Linda spoke up: "Is there a girl named, Taylor here?"

Rebecca picked up the clipboard and flipped through it and found the name 'Taylor Davis' Rebecca's expression softened. "Well, baby, we had a Taylor Davis a month ago but it says she is 'deceased'"

Lee looked to Linda with concern. Her eyes were wide with shock.

"Linda are you okay?" Lee asked. When he did, she began sobbing.

"Come here, Lin." Gerry said trying to comfort her, pulling her face into his shoulder.

Lily walked up to her mother and began rubbing her back.

Lee turned to Rebecca who also felt saddened for the weeping woman before her. "Do you have anyone named, Clementine here?" Lee asked.

"Let me check." Rebecca said as she flipped through the clipboard again. "No, sorry." Rebecca said while placing the clipboard down on the desk.

Lee turned to see that his group was already leaving the office, "Thanks Rebecca, do you know where I can find Bill?"

Rebecca nodded. "He's on the roof, ask around if you can't find the roof access."

"Thanks again." He said while leaving the room.

Minutes later he found his way up to the roof, there was a gardening room or a greenhouse that appeared to have very few plants as far as he could tell from the open windows on each side of the small room. He could also see that Bill was talking with a large dark skinned woman inside. Lee pulled open the door to the green house.

"I need you to find some, 'under qualified' people to work in here, Tavia." Bill told her.

"Can I help you?" Tavia asked Lee.

"Oh, uh, I was looking for Bill." Lee told her, scratching his head.

"Well you found him, what do you need?" Bill asked as he stepped up towards him.

"I'd like to help you with your scavenging tomorrow." Lee stated.

"Uh, no offense but I don't think you're qualified for that sort of job." Bill told him.

"Look, I 'single handedly' saved the lives of all those people who arrived with me, I can handle walkers." Lee said staring Bill straight in the eyes, slightly offended.

"Oh is that right? Well can you carry supplies to our trucks?" Bill questioned, placing his fists on his sides.

"I can't carry as much as other people can but, is that really why you need more hands for this job? Besides if I die out there that's just one less mouth to feed, right?"

Tavia interjected. "Why do you want to go with us so badly anyway?"

Lee turned to her and said: "I came here looking for my family, maybe if I go on runs with you guys I might have a better chance of finding them."

Tavia was about to decline when Bill stepped closer to Lee. "Alright, you got the job. What was your name?"

"It's Lee."

The two shook hands.

"Now, Lee, don't make me regret bringing you along." Bill said as he walked past Lee with Tavia following.

He stood there at the door of the greenhouse as he watched them leave the rooftop. He stayed behind and eyed the horizon; he saw an endless amount of trees. After staring at the green trees, under the grey raining sky, he saw a dozen walkers exit the forest and begin making their way in the direction of the warehouse. He shrugged assuming it was no big deal. After a few moments, he could see many walkers begin to enter the parking lot. Before long, it looked like a hundred were in the parking lot.

"I've gotta to tell someone, fast." He inferred, his eyes wide with fear as he ran towards the rooftops stairway exit.

However, due to the rain making the roof slippery, he slipped and fell back slamming against the ground; he aching in pain. He got to his feet and swung open the door and down the stairs into the room full of tents. He began running towards Bill's office. When he made his way up the stairs leading there, he noticed the room was empty. He ran up to the microphone, pushed down on the speaker button and yelled:

"_ATTENTION, THERE IS A LARGE HERD OF WALKERS COMING TOWARDS THE CAMP!_" When he said that, he saw everyone on the lower level panic and scramble to grab weapons from the armory, the wall, or anywhere they could find anything; complete hysteria.

Bill stood in the middle of the ordeal and began leading them to the rooftops, pointing and yelling.

He left the office running and began following the crowd of people up the roof of the hardware store.

When he arrived he saw Tavia, Luke, Carlos and Bill positioning the other survivors, while trying to yell through the loud rain. "HEY! YOU WITH THE BALL-CAP! TAKE POSITIONS WITH LUKE AT THE END HERE!" Tavia yelled.

He saw what appeared to be an organized system of defense.

Carlos approached him and handed him a standard nine millimeter pistol. "Go downstairs and kill anything that gets in." He ordered, Lee nodded and made his way back down. After a few seconds in the warehouse he could hear the sound gunfire outside.

A young girl with red glasses sprinted up to Lee. "Mister! The big door over there is going to break!" She told him, pointing to a loading bay door nearby.

"Go and find a place to hide." He told her.

She nodded before running off again.

Lee saw that the loading bay door was being raised by several walkers beating and placing their arms under it. He placed his new gun into his jacket, dropped his backpack and ran to the armory. When he entered, he grabbed the first sharp thing he could find, a machete. He ran back to the loading door and began swinging downward, cutting off the hands of the walkers trying to get inside. After all the arms were chopped off, the door slammed back down.

One of the bay doors to the left was lifted up. A foot of space for walkers to get in with; their heads could be seen poking into the warehouse. Lee ran towards it, pulled out his gun and fired several shots, hitting each walker in the head, each going limp, blocking the entrance. There were several shot-dead walkers piled up in the opening of the bay door, others were piling on top.

Suddenly, a scream of a young girl was heard, "Help!"

He ran in the direction of the voice. When he was close enough, he saw Lily and some other children; along with a couple of adults running away together.

He ran past them to see Gerry and Nate fighting several walkers.

"Hey Lee! Move that crate up against that door!" Gerry yelled while whacking a walker in the head with a plank of wood.

"Alright! I got it!" Lee ran to the crate and began pushing it in the direction of what appeared to be an emergency exit. He stopped pushing due to a walker advancing towards him. He quickly pulled out his gun and shot it in the head, then continued to push.

When he had pushed the crate a mere few feet away, there were three walkers in his way and many others outside, scattered and limping this way. However, Nate dispatched them with his 9mm, getting them out of Lee's way.

"Thanks man!" Lee yelled as he finished pushing the crate into the door, closing it just before another walker could enter.

"Phew..." He said before turning to see walkers still attacking Nate and Gerry.

Nate had his pocket knife out, he stabbed a walker straight into it's right temple; he tried to pry it out but, the handle snapped off. He stared at the red knife handle before tossing it at another walker nearby.

Half a dozen walkers spread out around the three men. Two lunged at Nate but, he sprinted off away from the scene.

Lee pulled out his gun and killed one of the two that were following Nate; both fell to the ground with no problem. When he turned his sights to Gerry, his eyes widened with shock.


	5. Dangerous youth

Lee saw a familiar horror that seemed to never stop repeating; Gerry had four walkers tearing him apart. Two gnawing on his shoulders, one in front of him ripping out his neck and another on it's knees, biting at his knee. Gerry looked at Lee, eyes and mouth wide open, unable to yell, due to his wind pipe being torn out. His eyes glazed over as he drifted out of consciousness before collapsing under the weight of his attackers.

"No!" Lee yelled, advancing towards his fallen from, gun raised and aimed to fire; he pulled the trigger several times, he heard a click each time he pulled the trigger, no shots came out. He was out of ammunition. He tossed the gun down in frustrating before running to his friend's aid, kicking the walker that was ripping the skin off Gerry's shin then repeatedly and furiously stomping its head in, yelling and grunting furiously.

The three walkers turned their attention to him, all growling at him as they slowly stood up from the motionless body they were feasting on. Lee was ready to fight, but, his fight was cut short when shots were fired behind him. Within the blink of an eye, all three walkers fell to the ground. Lee turned around to see an older man holding a rifle, along with a younger, much thinner man with a red ball-cap, holding an AK-47 assault rifle in his hands.

"You alright?" The man asked in a southern accent.

He looked down at Gerry, feeling a pain in his chest he was all too familiar with.

Several of the camps survivors scanned the store for any more walkers. All armed and shooting each corpse on the ground in the head as a precautionary method.

"Luckily it was a small herd, maybe two or three hundred." The man told Lee.

"I guess..." Lee said sorrowfully, staring down at Gerry; his chest and face covered in blood.

The older man walked up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't dwell on it, son." he told him before handing him a silver pistol. "Don't let him turn, either."

Lee nodded and took the pistol, slowly raising it and aiming at Gerry's bruised, bloody face.

"I'm sorry... Gerry." Lee said before firing, he brought his arm down and shut his eyes.

Linda saw what Lee did then ran towards her deceased husband with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Gerry!" Linda let out while crying into her former husband's chest getting blood on her face and clothes.

"Linda-"

Linda looked, snapping her head up at him, "Go find Lily, make sure she doesn't see her father like... like _this_."

Lee nodded and began scanning the multitude of rushing people around the warehouse. He made his way towards the stairs leading to Bill's office; assuming he could call for her on the intercom. Once he turned around the corner to make his way up the stairs he found her sitting on the top of the stairs, slightly shaken.

He sighed as he made his way up and sat down beside her. "You okay?"

Lily didn't reply.

"That was pretty scary huh?" He asked, trying to get her to talk.

"Yeah." She replied, gasping on the word.

"And some people got hurt..." He told her.

She considered this, "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Sometimes that isn't a choice we get to have. All we can do is try to make the best out of a bad situation."

Lily frowned. "That's not fair; we just got here. Mommy told me it was safe here!" She said, frustrated.

"Yeah... I know." He said, exhaling.

"Is everything going to be okay?" She asked him, looking up at him with fearful eyes.

"I don't know."

She turned away and looked towards the bottom of the stairs.

"Things haven't been okay for a long time." He said still looking at her.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Make the most out of what we've got."

She thought about that.

Bill made his way up the stairs, stopping next to Lee. "Good work back there." Bill told him.

"No problem." Lee replied, his tone still low.

"This happened due to my people's incompetence, so, I am very sorry for your loss." Bill said before entering his office.

"What did he mean by that?" She asked looking up at Lee with worried eyes.

"Your father... he's gone..." He told her, gulping.

Her face slowly transitioned to extreme sadness; her mouth quivering, her eyes shutting. Tears began flowing out of her eyes as her breathing quickened.

Lee looked away, unable to stare her in the eyes.

**The Next Day…**

Lee awoke, lying on a bench near the armory; he sat up, rubbing his forehead. He could hear people talking indistinctly from inside the armory. After a brief moment to stretch, the two men who were there when Gerry was killed, came out of the armory, arguing.

"Why don't YOU just get out there and burn those damn bodies?" The younger man asked, agitated.

"I am, I'm just trying to get you to help out more. Like Luke does." The older man replied.

The younger man frowned, "It's always about Luke with you! Well, I'm sorry I'm not Luke, okay?"

The older man shook his head before noticing Lee. "We didn't have a proper introduction yesterday, did we?" He asked, walking up to the bench he was sitting on.

"Name's Lee."

The two shook hands. "Pete, and this Nick." He said gesturing to the younger man beside him. "Also, just for a heads up, it sounds like Bill is pretty pissed. I'm pretty sure we are going to have to hear about it later on." Pete informed him.

"Why would he be angry?" Lee inquired.

Nick spoke up: "One of our guys wasn't keeping watch, and a lot of people just ran to hide instead of helping, not to mention we lost seven people yesterday."

Lee shook his head. "Need any help with uh, burning bodies was it?" Lee asked.

"I don't think we are going to need much help after very long, we got a few dozen people out there stacking bodies." Pete said.

"So, when is this supply run going to happen?" Lee asked.

"Whenever Bill starts hollering I suppose. Go ask him about it." Pete said.

Nick's radio buzzed then Bill came on: "_Wake everyone up,__ and have them meet me outside_, _Carver_ _out_."

With that, there were several people replying with: _"Copy!"_

Pete shrugged then the three of them made their way outside. After a few minutes, several people had gathered out in the parking lot which, now has large piles of bodies waiting to be lit on fire.

Carver approached the collective of people. Everyone suddenly quick speaking and moving and stared at the man before them.

"I understand yesterday that we lost some people... well, that's OUR. FAULT!" Bill yelled, frowning and pacing in front of his people.

Everyone looked anxious, or maybe afraid.

He continued: "Many of you _failed_ to help in defending your home. Many of you _failed_ to follow procedure. But, one has failed us all." Bill walked towards a thin man with glasses and a green baseball cap standing in front of the group.

He grabbed his arm, and tugged him out of the crowd and tossed him forward. The small man rolled on the pavement before attempting to regain his footing. Bill, then proceeded to punch the man in his gut once he did so, causing the man to hold his stomach in pain. Many flinched at the sight of the attack while others covered their children's eyes, unsure what to do. Bill then punched him in his face, knocking his glasses and hat off in the process and sending him back to the ground.

"Your ONLY job yesterday, was to keep watch for LURKERS! Now we've lost seven of our own, where were you, Dean?" Bill questioned the bruised man at his feet.

Many of the people in the crowd were cheering and yelling: "Kill him!" Dean tried crawling away.

"P-Please It was raining!" Dean begged.

Bill picked him up by his collar then punched him again this time straight in the nose.

"Bill! Cut that out! That new guy, Lee was able to let us know what was coming!" Luke reasoned.

"And we're grateful for that, however his warning caused a panic, one that could have been avoided if it were not for the actions of a single person."

Luke frowned. "Don't you have a supply run to go out on, Bill?"

Bill turned to the man he was beating and bent down to his level, looking him straight in the eyes. "Look, Dean if you screw up one more time, you're out." They locked eyes for a time; Bill let go of him and walked back inside the warehouse.

Luke approached Dean and helped him to his feet.

The crowd of people walked back into Howe's, some people gave Dean ugly looks on their way inside. One person even spit on him and called him, "Useless"

Lee turned to look at Pete who wasn't walking with the crowd. He looked angry in a way that felt somewhat isolated inside himself as though he couldn't do anything. Lee followed the crowd inside until he saw Linda sitting alone on a bench near the loading bay doors.

He made his way into her direction but, was stopped when Nate approached from his right flank, "Lee come check this out."

"What? Check what out?" Lee questioned.

Nate ushered to a door, Lee said nothing more and followed Nate into the room. Once they were both inside, Lee scoffed. "This is what you were so interested in?" They were in a dark room with many comic books spread around the floor and some on the shelves.

"No, look what I found." Nate pulled out what looked like a composition notebook from his denim jacket.

"And what would be the significance of that?" Lee asked.

Nate pulled open the door to the outside for light, there were a lot of planks and nails and hammers and saws outside, for their next construction job.

"Just read it, you damn skeptic." Nate said.

Lee placed it on the floor then opened it to see each page had a listed name, all their details, and their contribution/ration count.

"So is there anything... specific I'm looking for?" Lee asked.

"Find Taylor Davis."

After flipping through several pages, he found 'Taylor Davis'.

Lee began reading aloud: "Taylor Davis, age 29, below average height, brown hair, low contribution and high aggression, 7 instances of rebellious attitude. 3 rations per day, sometimes 4; this sounds like a rant of some sort."

Nate turned with a grin. "And what does the bottom say?"

Lee read the quickly scribbled note in blue pen that read: "Must remove." Lee's eyes widened.

"Yeah cool guy this Bill fellow, wonder how he 'removed' someone and somehow knows that she is dead." Nate inferred.

Lee looked at Nate, "How did you get this?"

"I went through his stuff while you guys all went outside. I was honestly looking for a key or something but, I got curious when I saw a journal hiding in his pretty little shelf."

"Nate this is good that we know what we are dealing with but, you've got to put that back where you found it, seriously." Lee urged.

Nate looked at him with a friendly smile. "You don't have to raise your blood pressure, go ask Bill about the supply run and drag out the conversation out long enough so that he will be distracted long enough for me to return this."

"Alright." Lee nodded.

Nate stuffed the note book in his jacket and they both left the comic store.

Lee looked around until he noticed Bill approaching with a standard 9mm pistol in his left hand.

Nate raised an eyebrow and leaned against a nearby wall watching Bill approach, as though he was Lee's bodyguard.

Lee stood there waiting to see what Bill wanted or rather what he was going to do with that pistol. Lee grabbed his snub nosed pistol and stuffed it in his side jacket pocket.

Once Bill was standing before him he said: "So, you ready for that supply run?"

Lee cleared his throat and said: "Uh, yeah, sure. I'm ready whenever you are."

"I'd prefer if it was just you and me." Bill said.

Lee looked unsure.

"You're not in any trouble, you're pretty skilled right? Well I want to see it." He told him, outstretching the gun for him to take.

Lee took the 9mm and said: "Alright let's get going then."

They both walked towards the loading bays. Lee turned to see Nate making his way up to Bill's office.

"So, where are we going?" Lee inquired.

"I'll explain when we get to the truck." Bill replied while the loading bay door began to rise.

Tavia approached Bill and handed him an AK-47.

"Good luck, Bill." She told him.

Lee felt inferior holding a 9mm but, what other choice was there? He only had one arm. Lee saw a white moving van ahead of him.

"Well, it's you're lucky day; you're riding shotgun." Bill said as he opened the driver's side door and tossed his AK-47 inside then climbed in front of the wheel.

Lee opened the passenger's side door and climbed inside, moving Bill's weapon out of the way. Bill backed the truck up in reverse and turned towards the road. Lee looked out of his window to see smoke and piles of bodies on fire nearby.

"So, you were going to explain when we got in the truck right?" Lee said.

"About a month ago, some people attacked our cam; and they killed and kidnapped some of our people." Bill explained.

"So, we're going to save them right? Just the two of us?" Lee asked.

"I've got faith in you, Lee." Bill replied.

Lee thought about that, unsure what faith he would have in a guy with only one arm when everyone else treated him like he had a handicap.

"So, who are the people who we're taken?"

"Twelve females ranging from ages eight to thirty five; god knows what these men are doing to 'em. So, when you're killing these guys, don't feel any remorse." Bill told him as he turned the truck down the road.

Lee stopped talking and looked out his window towards the trees.

After close to an hour of driving, Bill spoke again. "We're getting close so, let me give you some information on what we're dealing with: There are probably 20-30 men in that camp and they aren't nice people. My scouts located them a week ago, they're living in a trailer park, they have dug large holes and wooden barricades."

Lee felt as though he was heading towards his death. "So what is the plan?"

"First we have to locate the girls and see if we can get them to safety then, kill every last man in that camp."

"Any plan for killing these guys?" Lee asked, still hesitant.

"I've got some masks and knock out gas in the back, but, if it doesn't get them, all we're going to have a fire-fight on our hands."

Lee sighed then Bill stopped the van. "Well let's get our gear." Bill said, and with that they both stepped out of the van and headed to the rear. Bill opened the back and pulled out a brown suit case and placed it on the ground then opened it. "Here." Bill said handing Lee a mask. It looked like a mask an exterminator might use.

"Okay, so do you know how we are going to get into the camp?" Lee asked after putting on the mask.

"We can just knock over a barricade once they're out cool, we aren't Special Forces; we're only here to kill some drugged up inbred fucks." Bill said while putting his mask on. "Now take this." Bill said while handing him a brown leather belt with pockets and a gun holster.

"You found this, or made it?" Lee asked.

"Someone else made it, what does it matter?"

Lee shrugged and put on the belt then placed his 9mm in the holster.

"Here's the gas, don't waste it." Bill said while handing three gas canisters to him. "Now let's get this over with."

They both began sneaking up to the camp. A moment later, they were a mere few feet from the open space between the treeline and the barricade; an exposed area.

"Just stay calm and don't throw all the canisters in the same place." Bill told him.

"Okay, I'll go around the side you go through that way." Lee pointed to the nearest barricade.

"Sounds good to me." Bill replied.

They both made their way to their positions, Lee waved to Bill meaning to begin throwing the gas. He opened one of his belt pockets, pulled apart the cylinder gas grenade, and tossed it straight ahead, the next one towards the right, and the last towards the left. He then pulled the spiked barricade into the hole on the right, and it landed, smashing and leading to a loud cracking noise as if smashed a pair of walkers in the ditch.

In seconds, the camp was filled with white smoke, he could hear coughing and yelling within the large cloud.

Lee slowly began making his way into the camp, pistol in hand. Suddenly, a man around the side of the camp coughed frantically and passed out right in front of him.

"Fuck." Lee said, heart racing.

He made his way to the center of the camp and met up with Bill. "Looks like everyone is out cold." Lee inferred.

"Yeah? Alright then, let's begin the sweep." Bill said.

"Sweep?" Lee asked, unsure as to what he meant.

"Yeah, sweep, put a bullet in their heads so they won't be able to retaliate later on."

Lee looked at him without saying anything.

"For fucks sake, fine. Go find the girls and start carrying them into the truck, I'll do the sweep by myself." Bill said, agitated.

Lee began making his way towards the closest trailer. He slowly placed his hand on the door latch and quickly swung open the door, once he did that he quickly grabbed his pistol and aimed inside and entered cautiously. After he was inside, he heard a single shot from outside then after a moment, another then, and another.

Lee felt disgusted. "..'Sweep' sick bastard..."

The room had a good deal of gas inside, put his gun away and began flapping his arm, clearing the room and revealing half a dozen sleeping adolescent girls in white nightgowns.

"I really hope the rest are in a different trailer." He said as he bent down and picked up one of the girls and made his way outside, stepping over unconscious bodies.

The smoke had cleared which made the process of retrieving the girls and executing unconscious men easier for the two of them. This process continued for several minutes until all five girls were in the truck, and all the men were presumably dead.

When Lee returned to the camp to check another trailer, Bill came out of one with a wooden box, at this point both of them had taken off their masks.

"Don't bother searching for the rest of the women, I already checked all the trailers; those women and girls are probably dead."

"Damn... well at least we managed to rescue some of them, I guess." Lee said.

"There are a couple a crates inside this trailer, the rest are filled with drugs and other nasty things, keep watch while I move these things." Bill ordered.

"Alright." Lee said before scanning the camp.

After several minutes of keeping watch while Bill made trips back and forth, a couple of walkers made their way towards the camp, most likely due to the sound of shooting from Bill.

Bill returned to the camp. "One more left and we can go." He said as he made his way back into the trailer.

The walkers that were approaching, fell into the one of the trenches which, surrounded the camp. Lee kept watch when suddenly a man came at Lee from the back screaming before slashing at him with a knife, slightly cutting his jacket. Lee turned to face him.

"Imma kill you, Boy!" The crazed blond mullet man squealed at him while charging at him.

Lee tried for his gun but, instantly reconsidered if he were fast enough. He grabbed the man's wrist as he rushed him and they both fell to the ground. The man scrambled for his knife but, Lee quickly pounced on him, putting him in a headlock.

"Let go, Asshole!" The man yelled but, Lee kept his grip tight.

Bill stepped out of the trailer and saw Lee wrestling with a stranger.

"Bill! Get this guy!" Lee yelled.

"My hands appear to be full, I'll be back in a second." Bill said while making his way towards the van.

"BILL!" Lee yelled.

The man was reaching for his knife every second he inched closer. Since Lee only had one arm he didn't have the ability to restrain him further, and stopping him from moving in the direction of his knife so, he was slowly being dragged with his arm wrapped around the man's throat.

He knew what he had to do. He yelled with effort as he twisted the man's neck, breaking it in the process. The man grew limp and laid motionless, knife in hand. Lee had just barely survived the attack. He dropped the dead redneck and backed away, breathing heavily. When he collected himself, he got back to his feet, pulled out his pistol and shot the man in the head. Bill got back just as he did it.

"Nice work, Lee, now let's get back." With that, they made their way to the moving van. "Lee, would you mind staying in the back with the girls? Don't want 'em waking up frightened."

"Sure." Lee replied in a low tone.

He hopped into the back while Bill shut the door. "See you in an hour." Bill said as it closed.

Lee turned to look at the girls that laid unconscious next to all the boxes they aquired.

After a half-hour of staring, at the wall opposite of where he was sitting, leaning against the right wall, one of the girls woke up.

"Where am I?" The girl asked while rubbing her eyes.

"You're on your way back home."

The girl didn't say anything else, she appeared traumatized since her eyes were wide and she shook dramatically.

"My name's Lee." He said.

She didn't look at him. "Hey, Lee." She said, devoid of any emotion.

The girl was dark skinned with messy hair, she was wearing a night-gown, like the other, and she might have been around ten or so.

"What's your name?" Lee asked.

"September." She replied.

"That a cool name." He said with a smile.

"Thanks, mister." She said, still without making eye contact. "Are those men back there dead?" She asked.

"Yeah, they are." Lee replied with a grim look.

"Did you kill them?" She asked.

"...Just one." Lee said unsure where she was going with it.

She smiled. "Me too."

Lee frowned, somewhat taken aback by that.

"How did you kill him?" She asked, still grinning.

"I'm not going to tell you." Lee said.

She stopped smiling and said: "When the big guy who used to... come into our room and do... the... things to us, he always fell asleep. So I gave him a couple of doses of this heroine, nobody knew it was me, they all assumed that he overdosed, but, I knew..."

Lee kept quiet.

"Look, mister those guys were child molesters and murderers, if you feel bad about killing one of them, then you're a piece of shit."

Lee frowned. "Alright, one of those guys jumped me from behind, I had to snap his neck."

She laughed and said: "Like a twig?"

Lee looked at her with sorrow. "Looks like we rescued you too late."

She ignored that. "I like you, Lee; you're a cool guy." She said.

"Thanks." He replied, unsure if he took it as a compliment.

After that, they said nothing for the remainder of the ride.

When the back of the van was risen there were several parents and other survivors outside the van for their family members, and the supplies from the van, the other girls were all awake by the time they had arrived. Lee got out and walked past Tavia and the others, giving nobody any eye contact, basically staring at the ground the whole time. Some people began crying, either because they had reunited with their loved ones or because they realized their family member didn't make it back.

Nate approached Lee from behind and whispered while walking with him. "Hey, I put the notebook back where it belongs, it was not easy with Rebecca always being in there."

Lee looked at him and grinned but, his eyes looked tired or maybe it was just his mood. "Good job, Nate let's have a drink later on."

Nate raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? I thought you were Captain Frosty."

Lee kept walking. "Have you seen Linda or Lily around anywhere?" Lee asked.

"I saw them in the green room upstairs." Nate told him.

"Thanks, man." Lee said, while making his way to the roof.

Once he got there, he saw Dean shaking and using binoculars to watch the horizon. Lee walked past him and entered the green room to see Linda and Lily actually smiling and picking berries. It actually even cheered him up a bit. Lily turned to see Lee.

"Lee! you're back!" She exclaimed, running up to him and hugging him.

Linda looked at Lee and asked: "So how did that supply run go?"

"Well, we managed to rescue some girls and get some supplies together."

Linda smiled. "Well, that's good."

"Yep, well I was just checking on you two; I think I need some rest... I'll talk to you girls later." Lee said before turning to the exit.

"Something on your mind, Lee?" Linda asked.

"It's nothing." He replied, proceeding to walk away. He walked past Dean again and down the stairs, as he did a thought suddenly occurred to him, "Where did I leave my backpack?" He said as he made his was down into the warehouse where all the tents were.

He looked around until he found it near one of the orange tents. Someone had emptied it, Lee unzipped the tent closest to it to find it empty of any people but, he did find a couple of empty cans which used to belong to him and his 9mm pistol on a sleeping bag. "Well, I guess I'll just be taking that." He said while picking it up and placing it in the back of his jeans.

He left the tent and began walking away to find a place to sit. However, he realized that he was being followed. The person following him was, September; the girl he met in the van.

He turned to face her. "Can I help you with anything?"

She had a look of excitement. "I just learned that my dad died trying to find me."

Lee raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you so happy?"

She began laughing maniacally, holding her chest as she did so.

**Fun fact: I took inspiration for September from a friend of mine with schizophrenia; she was quite small for her age and had trouble making friends. I naturally felt bad and decided to talk to her. Our conversations were, very odd. She grew a little obsessed with me paying attention to her and got jealous easily when I socialized with others. Her name was September, I never learned her last name. She was short, pale, and blonde with green eyes. I found her interesting since she was clinically insane. We're still in contact with one another. I decided to make September in this story black but, I always imagine my blonde friend.**


	6. Roommates

_Lee's room was dark but, he could see faint light seeping through the blinds. He sat up, rubbed his early morning eyes and got out of bed. He made his way to the bathroom, located towards the back of the motel room. He pushed open the door and made his way towards the sink. Once he was there, standing in front of it, he rested both hands on both sides of the sink, still drowsy. He looked in the mirror and examined his face. He saw bits of dirt resting on his left cheek-bone. __He grabbed a cloth which had been hanging on a hook beside him. He dipped it into the sink which was filled with water and squeezed it, letting the excess water drip into the sink. He proceeded to wipe his face briefly before tossing the wash cloth back on the hook beside him. He looked in the mirror, seeing no dirt. _

_"Better." He said as he turned to make his way back into the motel room but, stopped when he saw a familiar face standing by the bathroom door. "Everything alright, Clementine?" He asked._

"_Yeah, I drew you a picture, look." Clementine held up the picture she drew. It was a picture of him holding apples. _

_"That's neat, Clem, thanks." He told her with a smile. _

_"I'm glad you like it. It's you bringing food to Lilly so that everyone can eat." She told him. _

_"Really?" He said then examined the picture again to see an angry brown haired woman in stick figure form looking at Lee. Lee let out a small laugh while shaking his head. _

_Clementine smiled._

Lee woke up, disappointed to see that he was in the comic store and not the motor inn. He rubbed his eyes and noticed a piece of paper folded up beside him. He picked it up. It was labeled as, 'Love note.' On the front.

Annoyed, he unfolded it, it read: _"I remember when he turned and killed the woman who I used to call my friend. He just munched on her face while those redneck fucks came running inside, one even got bit; it was funny. Send me a note back okay? I want to know about your first time killing one."_

He crumbled the paper up with his only hand and tossed it. He got up and made his way towards the tents to check on Lilly and Linda. Once he reached the tents, he heard a knocking on glass. Confused, he surveyed his surrounding to see where the knocking was coming from; it was from Bills office above him, Rebecca. She motioned for him to come up to the office. He shrugged and made his way to the stairs.

Once made his way to the top of the stairs, Rebecca approached with a distasteful look on her face.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice you taking things out of another person's tent last week."

"What?" He asked, confised.

"Don't bullshit me, Lee, I saw you when you got back from the supply run." Rebecca persisted.

"Oh, that wasn't stealing. That backpack belonged to me, I must have dropped it and someone took it while I was gone."

She frowned. "Yeah make up whatever bullshit story you want to but, if you keep this shit up, I'm going to get Bill involved."

"Don't you remember me showing up with that backpack? Besides, even if I had stolen it, I nearly died to save those girls and to get those supplies for you people."

She softened her expression. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Lee."

"Don't worry about it." He said while turning to leave the office.

"Oh, and Lee?" She said, stopping him from leaving.

"Yeah?"

"My husband, Alvin, is working on fixing up our perimeter. Could you keep an eye on him? Lurker's might sneak up on him." She requested.

He nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

With that, he made his way down stairs and through the tent area. While on his way to the exit, he noticed the armory and got curious. He entered the armory to see a large man loading up magazines. He had glasses and a blue button up shirt.

"Canna help you, son?" the man asked in a heavy southern accent.

"Was wondering if I could make an exchange."

"Lay out your weapons on the table right here and we'll see if we can find something you like."

Lee pulled out his two 9mm pistols and his smaller snub nosed revolver; weapons gathered from, troy, Bill, and a dead-man in Savannah. He laid them out on the table as requested.

"Ammo is always nice." Lee told him.

The man got up and examined Lee's guns. He noticed one was empty, and the other had four bullets left and the revolver had two rounds left.

"I'll take this here pistol and in exchange I'll reload the other guns you got there." He offered while scratching his snow white hair.

"Sounds fair." Lee said.

"Names Stewart." The large man said while opening an ammo box.

"Lee."

"You know, you should really get used to up close and personal weapons. Guns run out of ammo and are loud enough to draw herds in." Stewart told him.

Lee nodded.

"Check out the knife-rack behind you, and pick out something." The large man told him while filling Lee's gun magazine.

Lee turned to eye the various weapons hanging from hooks he saw, axes, combat knives, tire irons, hammers, and many different types of sharp and blunt weapons.

"What do you think I should get?" Lee asked.

"I would recommend something light and fast. So probably a knife or long screwdriver."

Lee looked through the knives once more, he picked up a combat knife and placed it on his belt, there was a knife quiver next to the gun holster on the right, convenient.

"You can keep that, I won't take anything from you in exchange." The man said while getting up and handing Lee his 9mm and revolver.

"Thanks, I really appreciate that."

"Don't mention it; it's the least I can do for the guy who brought my daughter back to me."

Lee took the 9mm and placed it in his holster, then took the revolver and put it in his jacket pocket. "Bill was there too."

Stewart frowned. "That asshole probably only went on that trip to get supplies, if his 'scouts' had told him those men were low on supplies he might not of gone."

Lee shrugged.

"But, you, Lee, you're different. You volunteered, and no offense but, if I only had one arm, I might never have done what you did."

There was a brief silence.

"If I'm being honest, I never knew why or where we were going, I was hoping I'll find someone I lost contact to by going on runs." Lee told him.

"Who did you lose?" Stewart asked.

"A girl I found when all this started, her name is Clementine."

Stewart nodded. "Well, alright then, I hope you find her. That's still a noble pursuit you've got right there."

The two shook hands.

"Thanks." Lee left the armory and made his way to the exit. He could hear hammering and indistinct voices outside. Once he opened the boarded up exit door he saw wooden fences being built along the outside of the store. He looked around to see a few people keeping watch with AK-47's. "'Keep an eye on Alvin', huh?" Lee said shaking his head.

"I want support beams placed on the inside of the walls!" Bill said while watching the others work.

Lee went back inside feeling as though he wouldn't be much help with only one arm. He made his way up to Bill's office. "Hey, Rebecca are there any more supply runs? Or anything?"

Rebecca turned to face him. "No, but, we do have scouts go out pretty regularly, talk to Tavia if you're interested."

He nodded. "Where can I find her?"

"I'd check the roof."

"Thanks, again." With that, he made his way up to the roof.

He saw dean shaking and looking intently through his binoculars, as he did most days; it was a pretty regular behavior since the incident with Bill.

"Uh, hello there." Lee greeted.

Dean was startled and gasped and turned to Lee, breathing rapidly.

"I apologize I uh, shouldn't have snuck up on you." Lee said, raising his hands to show he wasn't going to hurt him while making his way to the green room.

He pulled the wooden door open to see Tavia talking with Linda and Lily.

They turned to look at him. "Hey, Lee, want to help?" Linda asked.

"I'm not much of a farmer, or... gardener." He said with a smile.

"I'll teach you!" Lily offered.

"Sounds like a plan." He said, smiling at her.

"Hey, Tavia mind if I talk to you for a sec?" Lee asked.

"Sure, Lee."

The two made their way outside.

"So what's up?" She asked.

"I was wondering if it were possible for me to go out on scouting, like you do."

"It's possible but, I can't make any promises. Go get permission from Bill then I'll tell you how it works."

Lee nodded, "Thanks."

She turned and made her way back into the green room and pulled the door shut. Lee turned to see Dean still staring through the binoculars, clutching them tightly.

"Hey, Dean..."

Dean turned. "W-what?"

"Are you alright?" Lee asked.

Dean didn't reply.

"Bill shouldn't have done that to you, it wasn't right. So, I understand how you must be feeling."

Dean kept quiet.

"But, it's time to move on, he won't hit you again." Lee told him.

"How do you know?" Dean asked.

Lee thought about it, "Because I won't let him." He told him, a look of determination on his face.

Dean considered this. "Thanks, Lee."

Lee nodded then turned to the exit but, was greeted by September, now in blue jeans and a white T-shirt; her long curly hair was combed back.

"Hey, Lee. Look what I found."

Lee looked down at what was in her hands, an ear.

"Where did you get that?" Lee asked.

"In the parking lot, apparently I missed a good herd..." She replied with a frown.

"Well, go throw it away." Lee told her.

"No way, I'm keeping it." She said pulling it away and protecting it with her hands.

"Why would you want to keep that?" Lee asked.

"Because it looks cool." She said, examining it.

Lee sighed.

"I'll get rid of it if you teach me how to shoot." She said with a grin.

Lee frowned. "Deal."

September began giggling before running down the stairs with joy. Lee put his hand on his forehead then made his way down stairs after her, and into the loading bay room, then through the exit to see that the fences were nearly finished. Luke was talking with Bill, the conversation was indistinct, Luke looked somewhat displeased. Lee approached to get permission for scouting. Bill noticed Lee walking towards them and put his hand in Luke's face as a way of dismissing him. Luke walked away while shaking his head, and clenching his fists.

"What was all that about?" Lee asked.

"Nothing worth any consideration, can I help you?" Bill replied.

"I was thinking it might suit me better if I did some scouting, like Tavia does."

"I don't like too many folks leaving camp, sorry."

Lee sighed. "So people aren't allowed to come and go?"

Bill frowned. "What do you think this is? A holiday inn? We lost that crazy little shit's dad because he went off looking for her. We found him walking among the dead a day later, what was left of him at least."

Lee stood there, about to speak.

Bill noticed Lee's persistent attitude. "You know what? Fine, go scout around all you want, maybe you'll find your little girls remains out there somewhere."

Lee balled his fist up and glared at him angrily.

Bill simply crossed his arms, waiting for a reaction, confidence on his face. "Well, go on then."

Lee felt like exploding, he felt like lashing out, but, instead he stepped back and glared at Bill. "No… you're not worth it." Then he walked towards the door he came out from.

Nate was standing by that door watching the whole ordeal. "Whoa, Lee, you look pissed!" He began walking beside him.

Lee didn't speak.

"What did he say to set you off?" Nate inquired, slightly humored.

"Don't worry about it." Lee told him.

"Come on, Lee! Now I can be _your _witness this time."

Lee kept walking.

"Fine, be that way... You know, this place is pretty boring; maybe we could take a few boxes of supplies and hit the road; fuck these people."

Lee considered that for a moment. "Not just yet, I want to give this place some more time before leaving."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever, have you told Linda about what I showed you last week?"

"I don't think she's ready to hear it just yet; might not be safe for her with Bill and his 'removals' but, thanks for finding out about that."

"Yeah, sure whatever. I'm going to go find a lady friend to share a sleeping bag with tonight." He walked off in a different direction; turning off a Lee reached the back door to the comic-store he took residence in as of recently.

_"Attention, lunch starts in twenty minutes." _Rebecca announced.

He approached his sleeping bag and slumped down on it. He suddenly noticed a second sleeping bag beside him, a notebook titled, 'My drawing' with an ear lying on top of it...

"September." Lee inferred, disgusted.

He grabbed the ear off of the notebook and chucked it across the room, landing behind the counter. He cringed before quickly grabbing the notebook and flipping through it; there were several accurate depictions of dead or mutilated bodies; basically gore drawings. Suddenly, as he was flipping through the notebook, he heard a knock at the door. He sat up,

"Come on in." He called to his visitor.

At the door was Lily, she pushed the door open and peeked inside. "Hey, Lee! Come on out of there; it's time for lunch!"

"Yeah, alright. I'm getting up." Lee said, slowly getting up, dropping the notebook and walking to the door and through the warehouse with Lilly. "How you been, Lil?"

"There was a girl leaving stuff in your room earlier." She told him.

"Yeah, I know."

"I think she is a little crazy." Lily said while twirling her finger beside her head.

"I don't know about that." Lee said with a smile.

"I heard her crying when she was sleeping, she kept saying 'leave me alone' over and over and some other stuff."

Lee's smile faded "Really?" He asked with a look of concern.

"Then she woke up and ran to the door to the room you keep sleeping in; I think she was peaking in on you; she started laughing."

At that moment, he felt guilty for not being more considerate.

"Where is your mom?" Lee inquired, trying to drop the subject.

"She went to the lunch room or the picnic table place by the army place."

"You mean the armory?"

Lily gave an innocent frown while crossing her arms, displeased at Lee correcting her. "Uh, huh."

He laughed at that. After a moment, they were in the loading bay room where they normally ate at. Lee looked around the room full of people sitting and walking around. Food wasn't given out yet. He noticed Linda talking to Tavia again.

"Well looks like your mom found herself a new friend." Lee said while walking towards an empty picnic table.

"Yeah." Lily replied, agitation in her voice.

They both sat down at the table, waiting for the line to clear.

"Why don't you go make some friends too?" He asked.

Lily put her finger on her chin as though she were in deep contemplation. "Because I have responsibilities!" She said proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Lee said, smiling with an eyebrow raised.

"I am a gardener now, and my new duty keeps me too busy for any friends."

Lee made a pretend-hurt face, then gasped.

"Oh... but, I'll find time to be your friend. I'm going to go see mom, bye Lee." She said running away, dismissing the conversation prematurely.

Lee shook his head before letting out a brief laugh.

Bill came up behind Lee and sat down beside him. Lee frowned, not in any mood for this guy right now.

"Hey, Lee, I apologize for my rudeness earlier. Would you like to help me with something?"

Lee turned to face at him. "What is it?"

"There a dozen or so lurkers along the tree line, would you go out there and deal with 'em? I don't want too many to gather so close to the camp." Bill had a hatchet in his hand, indicating that this was the weapon he had for him.

"Why me?" Lee asked while taking a hold the hatchet.

"Because if you do this, I will give you a couple of scouting assignments, like you wanted."

"Fine, I'll be back in a bit." Bill gave him a pat on the back as he walked off.

"Pretty sure he expects me to get myself killed while doing this." Lee said aloud.

A minute later, Lee opened the boarded up front door and made his way through the parking lot, and towards the collective of walkers ahead. He had the hatchet gripped tightly in his hand. The walk between the treeline and the warehouse was wide and exposed; nobody to help him but, he knew why he was doing this.

The closest walker was a female, short black hair, wearing a tan shirt and ripped pair of blue jeans.

He quickly jogged towards her and lifted the hatchet to where it was above his head.

"Raa-" It growled but, was cut off just as Lee forced the hatchet forward slicing the walker straight through the eye and left side of its forehead.

Lee used his leg to kick her off of his hatchet. Three other walkers advanced a couple of meters ahead, growling.

Lee kept advancing when the next slim male walker approached; he slammed his weapon down, smashing open the top of the walkers head, blood splattering onto his face. He moved back to avoid the other two walkers, leaving the hatchet in its skull.

"...Grrraaauuuuunnngghhh..." The next dead man groaned.

He kicked one of the walkers back causing a domino effect, knocking the both of them to the ground. He noticed the larger group of walkers was a mere few meters away. He quickly pulled out his combat knife from his belt and stabbed down at the first walker, quickly entering then exiting its right eye. The second walker managed to get back up; it pounced at him, biting at the fore arm of his jacket.

He turned his hand, arching his wrist before pushing his knife into the clingy walker's temple. He pulled his knife out, allowing the walker to fall to the ground as he began to back away from the other group of walkers. There were maybe ten all in front of him. Lee raised his knife, eyeing each walker as he backed away slowly, one walker went in for the kill and was quickly killed, receiving a killing blow to the head from Lee's knife.

Many other survivors came rushing outside with axes and hammers and other weapons. Luke led the group of people out to aid Lee.

"Lee! Come this way!" Luke yelled.

Lee quickly turned and ran towards the group. He and Lee met eye-to-eye.

"What the hell are you doing?" Luke questioned as the other survivors ran ahead to deal with the remaining walkers.

"Bill gave me a job to do." He replied, scratching his head.

Luke frowned. "No way."

Lee looked turned to see the survivors picking off the walkers.

"He told me, if I cleared the perimeter he would let me go out on scouting."

Luke shook his head. "You are crazy, but, I give you credit for having guts. Dean saw you out here and radioed me about it."

"Thanks for the help."

A Hispanic female with a pitchfork approached with the other survivors. "They're all dead now." She said, accent and all.

"Good now let's all get inside." Luke said while turning towards Howe's.

After a minute or so everyone was back inside.

"You must have really wanted that job." Luke inferred while he and the rest of the survivors made their way towards the armory.

Bill approached. "Well, I hear you did well. I have a car ready for you. I'll give you more details tomorrow. For now, go get washed up and eat something."

Lee walked away, without speaking a word to him. He knew he was out for him now. He just didn't know why.

**5 hours later…**

Lee stared up at the ceiling, lying on his sleeping bag. Silence was rare when living in a warehouse with dozens of other people. A knock was heard from the door. He got up and made his way towards the door and opened it. It was September, looking up at him with a blank smile.

"Hey, September." Lee greeted.

"Will you teach me how to shoot now?" She asked holding out a six-shot revolver.

"Maybe tomorrow, okay? It's been a long day." He replied, his eyes heavy.

She put the gun away. "Okay... can I stay in here with you?"

He remembered what Lily told him earlier and nodded, "Yeah, okay." He opened the door, and stepped out of the way, letting her in.

"You still got my notebook?" She asked, scanning the store.

"Unfortunately, yes." He shut the door and made his way back to the sleeping bag, lying as he did before.

September sat down beside him, on her respective sleeping bag. "So how come you went out and tried to take on all those walkers? That's just stupid."

"I don't know." He said as he resumed his ceiling gaze.

"I heard you did it over some stupid scouting thing." September said while flipping through her gruesome drawing book.

"You heard, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, everybody is talking about it. 'You see that dumb guy try to commit suicide?' Or 'That guy, Lee has got some brass.'"

He rolled his eyes.

"So, why do you want to go scouting so badly?" She asked.

He sighed. "Well, I was hoping that I might happen to find my family if I keep searching through the state."

September laughed. "That's stupid."

He smiled. "Yeah, well sometimes we do stupid things for our families. Imagine a father going out against all odds to save his young kidnapped daughter."

September kept quiet for several seconds after hearing that. "You know, I don't miss my dad at all."

He looked at her. "I would give anything to see my dad again. Your dad died for you, if you don't feel anything for him..." He stopped talking, hoping she would pick up off of that.

"All well..." She said, erasing something in her notebook.

"I don't think you really feel that way. I heard you crying last night."

She frowned. "I was not."

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged before lying back down and looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah okay."

They stopped talking for several minutes.

"Is it cool if I stay in here for tonight?" She asked.

"I won't argue."

She smiled, delighted.

"You know, I saw a dead guy that got hit by a big truck or something. He looked like a half emptied tooth paste bottle."

Lee shut his eyes. "I ripped a walker in half trying to pull it out from under a tractor."

September suddenly began laughing hysterically, holding her chest. Lee turned on his side, facing away from her and eventually falling asleep listening to her laugh.


	7. Alone in the cold

Lee kept staring ahead at the snowy roads, hoping they would stay clear of the dead. Though his beard had fully grown, his face was still cold.

"Fuck it." Lee said while turning on the heater. Lee had been driving a Red 1990 sedan which had 24 miles to the gallon, surely running the heat for a few minutes wouldn't hurt. Lee could see Douglas ahead, it was a city in coffee county. Lee knew after Savannah to not enter cities but his job was to simply look and see if it was overrun and if not he would look around for supplies and grab what he could and return back to camp, this would be his fifth job this month.

Lee entered the city seeing a white sign saying "_Welcome to Douglas_" in green letters. The city wasn't anything special. It had some larger buildings here and there but it didn't stand out, however due to its central location it was growing fast in its time and might still have supplies. As Lee drove through the snow covered streets he saw very few walkers but he stayed alert regardless.  
"Okay now where can i find something useful to bring back?" Lee drove on surveying the city for places that were not picked clean of supplies. As he continued driving he saw someone scavenging the back of a Trailer attached to a Semi-truck, It appeared to be a man.

Lee parked the car behind the trailer, the trailer appeared to only have a single wooden crate in it. The man in the back appeared to have only a short sleeved grey shirt and blue jeans. "Man, this guy must be freezing." Lee said while getting out of the vehicle also pulling the keys out of the transmission, Lee instantly felt the cold air as he stepped out. "Hello there!" Lee yelled to the man.

The man turned around and pulled a rifle out of the crate and pointed it at Lee. "Parar alli!" The man yelled in a deep voice while approaching Lee.

"Take it easy." Lee said raising his only hand.

"Estoy tomando su coche!" The bald man yelled hopping off the trailer, still pointing the gun at Lee.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Lee said shaking his head.

"Car keys please." The man said with a heavy accent.

"Sure, here, whatever you like." Lee said taking the keys out of his right pocket and outstretching them to the man.

"Y ahora su arma de fuego." The man said while snatching the keys.

Lee looked at him confused.

"Gun, pendejo."

Lee slowly pulled his pistol from its holster and dropped it on the ground, "There."

The bald man picked it up and swung the rifle over his shoulder now aiming the pistol at Lee. "Move." The man instructed.

Lee stepped aside letting the man through to the car. "Fuck..." Lee said to himself.

"Gracias! Hasta luego!" The man said while laughing.

Lee watched the man enter the car and turn on the ignition. But suddenly he saw September spring up from behind the driver's side and slit his throat, then she began furiously stabbing the man in all area's she could reach, Neck, chest, right arm, face. Lee watched in horror as she butchered the now very bloody stranger. Blood was everywhere, on the windows on the seats all over whole affair took only a few short seconds and the man was motionless but she kept on stabbing and screeching.

Lee ran to the rear seat on the driver's side to get her to stop. "SEPTEMBER! STOP! IT'S OVER!" Lee said while frantically opening the rear door and pulling her out. She was kicking and screaming, the knife was left in the man's temple.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I'M GONNA CUT HIM UP!" September snarled while trying to wiggle free.

"HE'S DEAD ALREADY!" Lee screamed. September stopped screaming and kicking and stared blankly at the dead man in the car then she sunk down and started crying.

She turned and began crying into Lee's shoulder. Muffled, she asked: "Why did he have to die so fast?"

Lee stared at the bloody body inside the car, and petting her dark hair he didn't provide an answer. Lee felt scared and disgusted with her, when her dad died she laughed but she only cried when the man she was stabbing died too fast, but still he couldn't help but feel compassion, it was a confusing feeling. "It's okay, let's just go home." Lee said ushering her to the rear seat on the right side of the car.

September sat down and Lee buckled her seat-belt and closed the door. Lee approached the man's bloody body and pulled him out by one arm, dragging him to the sidewalk leaving a bloody trail from the car to the body. Lee looked at September with disappointed eyes.

"I'm going to check for supplies in this truck, I'll be right back."

She turned with her blood covered face and smiled. "Okay, Lee."

Lee hopped into the back of the trailer and approached the crate. Inside he found various canned foods, flash lights, and blankets. "Guess I could wipe up the car with these blankets." Lee said while taking the neatly folded blankets out from the truck and approached the blood covered driver's side again. He began wiping the seat, then the dash, then the wind shield, and then the steering wheel. Still, the car still had a lot of blood in it, he used three blankets in the process. "That'll have to do." Lee tossed the bloody blankets onto the snow covered road then approached September with the last one. "You are going to have to go take a bath when we get back." Lee said while wiping blood off her face.

"Okay." She said while slouching and staring at the body of the dead stranger through her window. "He shouldn't have messed with us, huh?" She said.

Lee turned her face towards him and continued to clean off her face. "Yeah." He said. When her face appeared clean he patted her shoulder and shut the door. Lee opened the trunk of the car and began carrying items from the crate and placing them inside the trunk. This process took several minutes but eventually he had finished.

Lee sat down in the driver's seat where a man had just been butchered. He put the car in reverse and turned the car around and drove back the way he came. After Lee drove out of the city limit's he looked up at the rear view mirror to check on September. She had brought her note book with her and was drawing something in it.

"Whatcha doin back there?" Lee asked.

"Drawing." She replied.

"Okay, what are you drawing?"

"Its a surprise." She said.

"Sounds neat." Lee said now focusing on the road. "So what were you thinking when you decided to stash yourself back there? You aren't suppose to come along with me, you know." Lee said.

She kept focusing on her drawing and then replied: "Because you're my best friend and best friends stick together."

Lee stopped asking questions. After almost an hour of driving through the cold they finally could see the camp. Lee pulled up around the back of the store then stepped out of the car, bringing his blood covered pistol with him and placing it back in its holster, the last thing the stranger did was place it in the cup holder. September followed and wrapped herself around his arm as they approached the now opening loading bay door. Tavia was the first to meet them.

"Lee? why did you bring her with you? and why are you two covered in blood?" She asked.

"Mind your own business." September said with a stern look on her face.

"I take full responsibility, I shouldn't have brought her with me." Lee said.

She nodded, "Don't worry, I wont tell Bill." She said.

"I did find a good amount of supplies but What's in the back is all I managed to find. Also the city seems under control." Lee said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"It'll do, come on inside and get cleaned up." Tavia said.

"Thanks." Lee said while climbing into the warehouse with September not far behind.

"Why is everyone so nosy around here? I wish they would just hang themselves." September said.

Lee ignored that, already used to her death-rants. "Maybe you should try making some friends." Lee suggested.

"why?" She asked.

"Doesn't hanging around me get boring after awhile?" Lee said.

"Nope." She replied with a grin.

"Well, go get washed up, I'll see you in a bit." Lee told her.

"If you say so." She walked off leaving her notebook with him.

Lee looked down at it. It had bloody finger prints all over it, he considered looking through it to see what she drew but assumed it was what she always drew, dead things. Lee Made his way to the comic store which was now his own personal room. The room had drawings torn out of September's notebook and tapped on the walls and shelves. Lee dropped the notebook on the ground then unzipped his leather jacket and placed it on the counter, then his utility belt. Lee felt a slight chill but sat down to examine his left arm.

He had Carlos change his bandage several times, the peroxide didn't feel too good either. It had plenty of Pink scarring around it. It looked like it was starting to form a kind of round-like shape also. Lee sighed and went to lay down on his sleeping bag. He stared up at the ceiling, a common activity for him. He turned his head to the side seeing an empty sleeping bag. It reminded him of that night in Hershel's barn. "Manure." He said with a slight laugh. Suddenly his smile turned into an expression of sadness.

The door leading to the front of the store swung open. "Lee?" Linda said while entering and walking past him.

"Yeah?" he replied sitting up. She turned around to face him, tears were rolling down her face.

"Are you okay, Lin?" Lee asked.

She wiped her eyes. "I just can't do it anymore I'm trying to be strong for Lily but I just miss him so much." She said while pacing around the room.

"I can imagine." Lee said in a calming voice.

"Every morning I wake up half expecting him to be there, then quickly realizing he's gone and never coming back!" She yelled, frustrated. Lee let her talk. "And Lily... Looks so much like him..."

Linda sunk down against the counter planting her face in her hands.

Lee watched the grieving woman as she quietly sobbed then said: "In that first month I couldn't get my family out of my head, they were gone and I couldn't change that. I felt responsible, as though it was all my fault." Linda raised her head from her hands and looked at Lee as he spoke. "But I had Clementine. I still had a family. I saw hope when ever she would look up at me. Hope that this world is not all bad. Gerry wouldn't of wanted you to move on and take care of Lily as best you can."

Linda smiled and hugged him. "Thank you, Lee." She wiped her face then took a deep breath then sat down next to him. "So how did that trip go?" She asked.

"Not good." Lee told her.

"Why not? You didn't find anything?" She asked.

"No its not that I uh, you know September right?"

Linda was confused. "Yes?"

"Well this guy was trying to rob me and she just sprung up from behind and butchered him inside the car." He explained.

Linda's eye's widened. "Oh my God, I knew she was a little messed up but..."

"Well, she's in a dark place right now, Considering what she has been through." Lee said.

Linda stared at him unsure what to say.

_"Attention lunch starts early today, be in the loading bay room in fifteen minutes to get your second rations"_ Rebecca's announcements were much quieter now, they disconnected the outdoor speakers to avoid another herd hearing them.

"Well I'm going to go find Lily, I'll see you later, Lee." Linda left the store through the rear entrance towards the loading bay room. After a brief moment he was alone yet again. In a room filled with crates, and comic books, and very accurate depictions of corpses decorating the walls.

Lee eyed September's notebook he had dropped earlier and noticed it was opened to a page that didn't appear to have any drawing of a body. Lee got up and walked towards and looked down at it. It was a flower, just a flower. No corpses or severed heads, just a flower. Lee smiled and picked up the notebook. He carefully tore out the page and left the note book on the counter. He grabbed a thumb tack off the shelf beside the sleeping bags and hung the picture beside the door to the front, right next to her sleeping bag.

Lee noticed the calendar right beside where he had just placed September's drawing. It was the 15th of December, Bill managed to keep track of dates some how. "Well tomorrow Hanukkah starts, and Christmas is in a couple days." Lee said to himself. "I wonder if we might celebrate anything this month... Probably not." Lee got up and grabbed his backpack he often leaves on the shelf. He unzipped it and dug around until he found the item he was looking for. Some duck tape. "I should probably fix up my jacket." He said to himself while holding the duck tape in his only hand and then walking towards his jacket.

He first pulled the only full length sleeve close to him and examined the bite incantations.  
"Looks like there's a bit of a rip here and there." Lee unwrapped some of the duck tape using his teeth and his only hand then wrapped it around the bite marks several times.  
"That should reinforce it a little." Lee had consistently used his arm to protect himself from walkers but he often wondered whether or not he was immune or if severing his arm is what saved him, either way he wasn't going to test that idea anytime soon.

Lee forgot that September had gotten blood all over the front of the jacket and by doing so he got blood on his hand. He lazily wiped off his hand on his plain white T-shirt then put back on the jacket and belt. As he was zipping up his jacket September returned, this time not completely covered in blood. She was wearing a purple coat with baggy blue jeans and her hair was puffed up.  
"Nice hair." Lee joked.

She gave him an annoyed look.

"You got a comb anywhere?" She asked.

"I don't think so." Lee responded as she went through his backpack.  
"Maybe Tavia has one." He suggested.

"Does she LOOK like she would have a comb?" She replied.

"Fair point." Lee laughed.

"Well I can't just leave it like this!" She said while dumping out Lee's backpack.

Lee noticed a pair of scissors fall out of the backpack. "How about a hair cut?"

She stopped and eyed the scissors. "No way." She said.

"It'll be safer from walkers and easier to keep neat." She rolled her eyes.

"Have you ever even cut a little girl's hair before?" She asked.

"One time." He replied. Lee picked up the scissors from the mess she had just made. "Come on, it'll be fine."

She shrugged "If you say so." She sat down in the chair and then Lee began cutting.

"September?"

"Yeah?" She responded a little annoyed.

"Why did you do that to that man today?"

She thought about his question. "He was trying to steal the car."

Lee wasn't satisfied with that. "I would have been able to take care of it on my own." Lee assured her.

"Oh yeah? how?" She replied, skeptical.

"I always keep an extra gun on me." He replied.

"Oh well, it's over now, we might as well just forget about it." She told him.

"We can talk more about it later." He replied. After about three or four minutes of cutting her hair he nodded. "Well that should do." Lee assumed.

"I bet it looks ridiculous." She said. Her hair was tightly coiled like a slinky and appeared very fragile and soft, odd considering her personality.

"I didn't cut it too short. If you wanted to style it or something you still could I suppose." Lee said.

"Guess I can't complain then." She replied. "You like what I drew huh?" She said before running up to the drawing Lee hung up.

"It's a nice change." Lee said.

"Maybe the other pictures are a little repetitive." She admitted then turned to look at him. "You know what I want?" She asked.

"What?"

"I wan't some toast." She said.

"I don't think toast is a common day to day meal right now." Lee told her.

"Well that's what I want." She told him.

"We'll see, I can't make any promises." He told her. _"Well she's still talking nonsense but at least she hasn't mentioned anything concerning dead things, as though that even matters considering what she did today." _He thought.

"You should go get our food or something." She said ushering him away as you might a servant. Lee shrugged then walked towards his back door then towards the loading bay room. He saw a line of people being handed cans of food and some water bottles. Dean was passing out rations today it seemed. Lee got in line behind some guy with a receding hair-line. Lee looked around him to see strangers and familiar faces all around him sitting at picnic tables and sharing large cans of fruits and vegetables. As he shuffled his way in line he accidentally stepped on the man's shoe in front of him.

"Hey! come on, be more careful." The man said before turning to face him. "Oh, hey Lee." The man said.

"Hey Reggie, sorry about that." Lee said.

"That's alright, hey can I ask a question?" Reggie said.

"Sure." Lee replied.

"What is it like living with only one arm? If you don't mind me asking."

Lee thought about his question. "Its not too bad." Lee said.

"Huh, I can't even imagine me with only one arm." Reggie said.

Lee shrugged.

"Um excuse me but um you two are next." Dean said.

"Oh, right, sorry bout that." Reggie said.

The two approached Dean. "Here." Dean said while handing Reggie a large can and a bottled water.

"Thanks, Dean. See you later, Lee." Reggie said to them before walking away.

"So uh I'm here to get rations for both me and September." Lee said.

"Lee, I have to show you something." Dean said.

"Can it wait?" Lee asked.

"No." Dean said in a worried tone.

Lee sighed, "Okay what do you have to show me?"

Dean walked towards the rear exit of the store letting in a blast of cold air. "I need you to keep quiet about this." Dean said before lifting up his shirt and exposing a bite below his ribs.

Lee's eyes widened. "When did that happen?" Lee asked.

"This morning, what do I do? I know for a fact that you must have cured yourself somehow, right?" Dean asked him frantically.

"No, I just cut off the arm, but I did it too late based off of what I heard from the people here." Lee explained.

Dean put his hands on his head and started pacing. "What am I going to do? Am I going to die? I don't want to die. PLEASE help me, God, what if I already have the fever!?" Tears began to roll down his face.

"Dean calm down, Lets just think for a second." Lee said.

"Okay y-yeah yeah, we gotta think." Dean said.

"Okay so the bite doesn't make you turn only dying does." Lee said.

"So? the bite will kill me."

"Maybe its like a regular infection, if so all we need is antibiotics." Lee said.

"Is that it? is that how you survived it?" Dean asked with hopeful eyes.

"No." Lee said in a grave tone.

"I'm so fucked." Dean said.

"It's still worth a try, what do you have to lose? just go ask Carlos. Tell him it's for me, tell him that I reopened my arm and got an infection." Lee said.

"Alright, okay, good, it's worth a try." Dean said before rushing away. Lee sighed. After a few minutes Lee returned to his room with a bag containing his and September's daily food rations.

"Took you long enough." September said.

"Yeah, sorry." Lee said while placing the bag on the ground in front of September. Lee sat down in his chair by the counter and pulled out his snub nosed revolver. "September."

"Yeah?" "Here." Lee handed her the revolver.

"You might need it for tonight."

"Sounds neat!" She proclaimed excitedly while examining the gun.

"Please be careful with that." Lee said.

"So who am I gonna shoot?" She asked.

"Hopefully nobody but it could happen, you know Dean?"

"The wimp?"

"He got bit, I have an idea that might save his life, but if it doesn't you need to be able to protect yourself."

"Okay then." She said. Dean came running through the door with the antibiotics.

"Slow down, Dean." Lee said.

"S-sorry I'm just a little paranoid."

"Just take one for right now." Lee said.

"You think that'll be enough?"

"I don't know, Just take one and that's it."

"Alright." Dean said.

Dean took off the top of the bottle then took one out and placed it on his tongue then took a big gulp of water from his water bottle. September smiled and began staring at Dean devilishly while spinning the cylinder of the revolver. Lee sighed. A few hours later the sun had gone down. Lee was watching Dean sitting with his arms around his legs staring motionlessly at the ground in the corner of the room. September was drawing yet another picture but this one seemed to be taking some time to finish. Lee had his pistol well in hand, ready to kill Dean. Lee could sense that Dean knew this.

Later on that cold winter night. September had fallen asleep, Dean was wide awake, you could tell by the look in his eyes. Lee felt himself tiring rapidly. He fought to stay awake but he eventually fell asleep, head against the cold counter.

_Clementine began shaking and saying: "No." repeatedly. Lee began to call her name in an attempt to wake her up. _

_"Clem, Clem, Clementine." He said waking her up, startling her in the process. _

_She got used to the light and said: "Lee?" confused. _

_"It was just a bad dream, sweet pea... What was it about? Duck?" Lee asked. _

_"He's bit" she said. _

_"We don't know how this works yet. Maybe it's like a cold. His mom's a doctor, maybe she can help him." Lee said. _

_"It's not like a cold." Clementine replied. _

_"No it's probably not." There was a brief silence. _

_"I feel bad." Clementine said. _

_"Why?" Lee asked. _

_"I called him a crybaby when I hid the bug in his pillow." She told him with guilt. _

_"Aw, that's okay honey, you didn't mean it." There was another brief silence. _

_"Lee?" _

_"Hm?" _

_"Why did Lily do that to Carly?" She asked. _

_"I don't know... She was sad, Clem, that can make people angry sometimes." He said. _

_"Because of her dad?" She asked. _

_"Yeah." Clementine looked out the window. "Clem, people don't always make sense." _

_"How come?" She asked turning back to him. _

_"Cuz bad things happen to everyone, and its hard to keep being yourself after they do." She thought about that. "What do you think? should we have left her behind?" He asked. _

_"No." She said. _

_"Maybe we should have, I don't know... I don't know if we did the right thing." _

_"How can you tell?" _

_"Well its not like math, Clem, sometimes there just isn't a right answer." _

_"I hate math." _

_"Ha, me too, sweet pea." Lee's smile went away. "A part of growing up is doing whats best for the people you care about, even if sometimes, that means hurting someone else." _

_"I don't want to hurt anyone." _

_"It's not that easy." _

_"I'm scared, Lee..." _

_"What can I tell you to make it better?" _

_She thought about his question. "That you won't leave me." _

_"Oh I wouldn't do that, I promise. Everything is gonna be alright." Lee said. Clementine began weeping. Lee gave her a warm smile then she went back to laying against his side. "Now lets try to get some sleep." _

_"Okay, Lee." With that The two fell asleep._

Lee awoke to see nobody was laying on his side, he sighed. September was still asleep on her sleeping bag. Suddenly Lee heard moaning coming from behind the counter. Lee was confused, however he quickly realized what had happened and his eyes widened.

The pill bottle was empty.


	8. Fight or Flight

Lee slowly got up from his chair and with his gun in hand he aimed towards the counter. The moaning stopped, Lee was unsure if Dean was already dead or dying.

"Dean?", Lee called in a hushed voice, there was no response. Lee slowly made his way around the counter, sliding one foot pass the other carefully. Once Lee was around the side he could see Dean laying motionless against the counter. "Dean?", Lee tried but was met with silence yet again. He aimed the gun directly at Dean's forehead as he slowly made his way towards him. Lee bent down and poked Dean with the gun. Dean snapped up with his penetrating eyes, he had pale skin and what looked like rashes. He looked at Lee for a split second before throwing himself towards him growling loudly.

Lee pulled the trigger blasting a hole straight through his forehead, dark blood sprayed out of his head and poured onto the ground after he collapsed. Lee felt his heart racing, he was breathing rapidly. September sprang up and rushed towards Lee then turned to look down at Dean.

"I wish I could have done it, why didn't you wake me up?", She said in a disappointed tone.

Bill, Tavia, and a few other survivors came rushing into the store. AK-47's aimed towards Lee and September. "Lee, what the fuck is going on?!", Bill demanded.

"Dean turned and I had to shoot him.", Lee explained.

"Is that right? And what happened before he turned? Can you tell me that?"

Lee put away his pistol and picked up the empty antibiotics bottle. "He was bit so we decided to try medicine, it looks like he overdosed, I woke up and found him as a walker."

Bill gave Lee a grave look. "Are you really this fucking stupid? don't you think we would have tried medicine already?", Bill said.

Lee looked at Dean's motionless body then back to the six armed people in front of him. "What was I suppose to do? shoot him?", Lee questioned.

"No, let's just risk the entire camp with a bullshit plan that wouldn't have worked in the first place. You put us all at risk with your incompetence and you must pay the price. There isn't anything else to discuss at this point.", Bill handed his gun to Tavia and advanced towards Lee, fists balled.

"September, get out of here, now.", Lee ordered. She nodded and ran towards the front entrance.

Lee turned back to Bill only to be met with a punch to the cheek then the chest, Lee held his stomach in pain.

"How was that?", Bill said before kicking Lee back.

Lee fell and held his chest in pain. "I'm not you're enemy, Bill!", Lee let out in agony.

"No?", Bill began punching Lee repeatedly while he was down. Tavia flinched at the sight. "Get up, Get the fuck up!", Bill ordered while trying to pull him up. Lee stumbled to his feet and wiped blood from his face. He saw Bill swing to punch him yet again but dodged then gave him an uppercut knocking him back. One of the male survivors approached Lee aiming his weapon at him. "Back off, hes mine.", Bill said before spitting blood then charging at him again.

Lee stepped aside and grabbed Bill's right arm before he could hit him, then sweep kicked his right leg causing Bill to go tumbling down face-first. Lee mounted himself on Bill's back and grabbed his hair and began bashing his head into the tile three times before one of the other survivors pulled him off of him. Bill began coughing on his hands and knees then slowly standing and turning to look at Lee. His nose was broken and his forehead was bleeding. He stumbled towards Lee, the others backed away from the two. Bill gave him a menacing look before slowly walking towards him. Lee was breathing heavily, he raised his arm into a fighting stance as best he could.

Bill pulled a knife from his coat pocket and clutched it as he made his way towards Lee. Lee eyed it and considered pulling out his gun but that would only cause the others to step in and very likely kill him, he was going to have to beat him unarmed and with only one arm. Lee began moving around him in an attempt to keep him from being cornered. Bill sliced at Lee horizontally hitting Lee's jacket but not enough to actually harm him due to the thickness of the jacket. Lee saw him lung again this time he grabbed his wrist, stopping his attack. Bill added his other arm and began using all his strength to pull down in an attempt to kill Lee. Lee felt his arm weaken and the knife edged ever closer to him.

Lee kicked him in the groin causing him to grunt in pain and lessen his weight on the knife. Lee utilized this opportunity to charge Bill into the ground he rested his left knee on Bill's right arm while repeatedly beat Bill's hand into the tile until he broke his hand, releasing the knife in the process. Bill screamed in agony, but his cry of pain was cut short by a barrage of punches, he used the side of his palm then his knuckles in a swinging motion from one to the other. The others chose not to intervene this time. After several hits Lee He gave him one last strike to the cheek then climbed off of him and stumbled back looking down at Bill coughing with blood and bruises all across his face.

"IT'S OVER!", Lee yelled, enraged.

Bill turned to Tavia, coughing. "Kill this bastard!", He yelled at her weakly and angrily. She was unsure but she slowly aimed at Lee.

Lee raised his hand at her. "Please.", He pleaded, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Okay, everyone put you're fucking guns down!", Someone yelled from behind. Everyone turned to see who it was, It was Nate and he had a female hostage.

"Let me go!", The distressed woman yelled.

"Do not make me kill her! everyone put you guns down, NOW!", Nate yelled. September entered the room carrying a backpack and aimed the snub nosed revolver towards Tavia and the others. Lee watched, confused.

Bill still unable to stand said: "Do as he says.", in a defeated tone. All five of them dropped their AK-47's. September collected the magazines and placed them in the backpack then picked up the sixth one and aimed it at Tavia, she frowned.

"Very nice, everyone, you DO know how to follow instructions.", Nate said.

"Nate?", Lee asked.

"Not now, Lee, I'm saving you're ass.", Nate said. "Alright listen up, Miss Allison is going to hop in my truck and we are going to take her a few blocks away before releasing her. If we are followed she will get a bullet to the temple, do I make myself clear?", Nobody spoke. "I'll take that as a yes, get against the wall, now.", He ordered, Tavia helped Bill to his feet then the six of them lined up against the wall. "Lets get going, Lee.", Nate said before dragging the woman towards the frontal exit. Lee shook his head then pulled his pistol from its holster. Once they were outside Nate pointed the gun at the woman who was now tearing up and said: "Do not move a muscle.", Then he stomped on the supports that were holding up the wooden barricades.

Then he pushed it forward. "Okay, now we have to run to my truck it's just around the corner, lets go.", With that the four people ran towards the truck several walkers began to intercept them. Nate shot down two of them and kept going the hostage panicked and ran back into the warehouse. "Fuck! now we gotta hurry.", Nate said. September was falling behind due to the weight of the backpack and the gun. Lee grabbed her up and carried her on his side. Before they knew it they were already near the truck. Nate frantically swung open his door and started up the truck. Lee tossed September into the back then hopped in also.

"LET'S GO!", Lee yelled.

Nate accelerated as fast as he could leaving tire smoke behind them, September and Lee fell back due to Nate's driving speed. After a few seconds Howe's was out of sight. Lee sighed. September began laughing hysterically as they both sat back up. Lee just sat there staring at the stolen boxes of supplies before him.

"Guess you're pretty lucky we showed up when we did huh?" September said, it was cold enough that Lee could see her breath.

Lee looked at her with bruised cheeks and a black eye and smiled. "Thank you." He said. Nate slowed down to below eighteen miles per hour and things were peaceful from there on. Lee examined his knuckles in the early morning light. They were bloody and bruised. He cringed in pain whenever he moved his fingers.

September noticed this and unzipped her backpack and pulled out peroxide and rolled bandages. "How about we see how loud you can scream like a little girl?", She said.

Lee held out his hand. "Says the little girl."

She ignored that and took the top off the peroxide and held it above the open gashes in his knuckles. She slowly began to tip the bottle however Nate hit a bump in the road and she spilled plenty of peroxide onto his hand. Lee jolted in pain and let out a screech. September began to laugh at him simply shook in pain. "Okay, it's not that bad let's get it covered up.", She insisted.

"God...", He said while shaking.

She then began to roll the bandages around his hand several times then tied it shut. "Guess I won't be much use for awhile with this hand how it is.", Lee said while examining it.

"You must have really fucked him up huh?", She said.

Lee rested his arm down on his lap and said: "Hey don't swear okay?", She just shrugged. Lee thought back to what had just happened, remembering the whole thing in his head. "I guess I just sort of.. lost control.", He said.

"Wow, Lee, and you think I'M crazy?", She joked.

"Yeah, to those people back there, we must look like the people who supposedly killed Dean, stole their supplies, beat their leaders face in, and took a hostage" Lee shook his head at the thought.

"Well, we didn't do it alone" She said.

"What do you mean?"

"Stewart, Linda, and Lily helped us get the truck and the supplies ready. They all said to tell you goodbye and that they hope you find Clementine." She explained.

Lee smiled. "Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, and uh, Lily said to make sure you told Clementine she said 'hello'."

Lee sat motionless, thinking back to the friends he made and lost along the way. "So where do you think we should go?" Lee asked.

"I wanna go home to get something." She replied.

"Where do you live?" Lee asked.

"An apartment in Atlanta." She replied.

Lee raised an eyebrow at her. "Atlanta?" He asked.

"Yeah, I left something there." She said.

"Would it be worth all the risk of going through the most overrun city in Georgia?" Lee questioned.

"I don't know..." She said with a disappointed look on her face.

Lee shook his head. "Well, there might be a way we can get this done." He said.

"How?"

"We cover our selves in their blood and walk straight through." He told her.

"And that works?" She asked.

"I've done it myself." He told her. She smiled then it was quiet for several minutes. Eventually Nate pulled over next to an empty, snow covered Cadillac. Nate opened his door it creaked loudly and thudded when he shut it. He approached the side of the truck and leaned forward against it, resting on his elbows.

"So, where should we go?" Nate asked. Lee looked at September then back to Nate.

"Atlanta." He said.

"Okay, I'll ask again: where should we go?"

"You can stay far from the city, we have a plan for entering the city safely." Lee told him.

"Whatever, either way I've got plenty of supplies, even more if you do die, but still I can't see why I risked my ass for you back there if you're just going to commit suicide anyway."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Lee said.

"Uh huh, by the way there are two perfectly good seats waiting for you up front." Nate said while turning and opening his truck door. Lee and September climbed out of the truck and got in front with Nate. September sat between them, Lee kept an eye on the horizon ahead. He saw cars resting off the side of the road, covered in snow, he turned to look out his window, he saw the sun slowly rising through the treeline. Eventually the tree line ended after several minutes, there was a wooden chain linked fence and beyond that there was a large open snow covered field. Lee could see the silhouettes of what appeared to be walkers in the distance. They were slower than usual.

"Well Macon's about ten minutes away." Nate said.

"Well, Nate, are we going to Macon? or Atlanta?" September asked sarcastically.

"I don't know, kid, because at this rate there might not be a 'we'." Nate said coldly then continued to stare straight ahead, September shrugged. "What exactly are we getting from Atlanta anyway? You're dolly? Maybe some pretty pictures of mommy and daddy?" Nate said in a mocking tone.

"No." She replied.

"Maybe your blanket? Your parents are dead, kid, get over it." Nate said.

September looked down at her sneakers and began shaking angrily, clutching the seat.

"Okay, Nate, we can just go back to sitting in the back." Lee said.

"Best idea you've had all day." Nate said while pulling over.

Lee opened the truck door and took September's hand and helped her out of the truck then they both climbed into the back Lee on the left side, September on the right. September continued to shake and stare blankly ahead. The truck started up again.

Lee stared at September as she shook with that blank expression on her face. "September." She didn't respond. "Nate might say things to hurt you but I'm sure he didn't mean it." Lee tried again to no avail. "I think Nate has been through a lot too, he is probably just trying to block out any pain the walker's might have caused him. He is sarcastic, taunting, and overly confident, and often cruel. But on the inside it might not be a similar story, sound familiar?"

September lifted her head up, "We are nothing alike." She said quietly.

"Of course, but you're both alive." He said.

She looked towards Nate as he drove. "I don't like him." She said.

"I don't like him either. But lets just cut him some slack." Lee suggested.

She turned back to Lee and said: "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"How did you meet Clementine?"

"I was running away from walkers and went into her house to look for help."

She nodded. "Do you remember the first thing she ever said to you?"

Lee thought about this question, trying to recall. "She thought I was her dad at first." Lee said. "Where did you live in Atlanta?" Lee asked.

"Heritage station apartments." She said.

McDaniel Street Atlanta, two hours later. Lee and September were walking through the devastated and overrun streets of Atlanta. They had on blue rain ponchos covered in the blood of a walker. As they made their way through the snow covered herd September tugged on Lee's arm and tilted her head in the direction of the Heritage station apartments. Lee nodded, they made their way through the parking lot and up to the entrance to the large complex that was four stories high and consisted of brick exterior walls. Lee pushed open the broken glass door with September close behind. The check in counter had several walkers surrounding it. Lee continued to lead, they found a staircase that appeared to be clear of walkers, but very dark also. They began to make their way up the stairs still seeing no walkers around each flight of stairs.

"Its on the second floor." September whispered.

"Room sixty seven." Lee confirmed in a hushed voice. They carefully climbed the stairs peeking around every corner, they made their way up the last set of stairs when a walker fell and came tumbling down towards them. Lee didn't move fast enough and the walker fell right on top of him causing him to fall down a few steps of stairs. Once he hit the floor at the foot of the stairs he fell from he grunted in pain. The walker heard this and turned and began moving towards him. September was ahead of the walker and quickly jammed a knife into the back of its head.

"Thanks." Lee whispered while slowly and cautiously getting up off the ground. September looked to the top of the stairs and saw no walkers paying attention. "No problem." She said while pulling the knife out of the walker's head. Lee took the lead up the stairs yet again, this time they made it onto the second floor. There were fewer walkers on the second floor. September walked ahead of Lee and led him to room sixty seven. September grabbed the door knob and attempted to turn it but found that it was locked.

"Just our luck." Lee said quietly.

"Maybe we could break it open?" September suggested in a similar volume.

"Might be the only choice." Lee assumed while backing up. There was maybe a couple of dozen walkers in the hallway, the chances of them being discovered were very good.

Lee exhaled, he could see his breath, he could feel an uneasy feeling in his chest similar to when he cut off his arm. He didn't know what was causing him to risk so much for such little gain. He took stance, ready to bust open the door, ready to possibly die for whatever was in that room.

He stopped, and sighed. "This isn't safe, we need to come up with a better plan." Lee said.

September rolled her eyes.

Lee began to look around the hall for anything he could use to get through the door quietly and easily. A female walker passed by them wearing black dress pants and a black button up shirt. "She might have a key." September whispered.

"How do you know?"

"That is the outfit the staff used to wear when I lived here."

Lee nodded, "See if you can get it from her, carefully." Lee said.

Without speaking she followed the walker with her left hand outstretched.

She disappeared from Lee's sight, _"Come on, September." _Lee thought feeling stressed every second she was gone.

He would have tried to do it himself if his only hand wasn't so badly damaged. Lee considered going after her but decided to put faith in her and be patient. After a minute of waiting she returned with a sinister grin on her face. Lee felt relieved. She used the staff key to open the door to her former home. They quickly entered and shut the door behind them. The apartment seemed completely untouched, there was some dust here and there but it looked like your average four room apartment.

September ran off to the living room, Lee followed her, happy to finally see what it was she wanted from this place. She stopped and stood in front of her coffee table.

"Well?" Lee said.

She bent over and picked up what looked like a flower. Lee got a closer look and it was a picture of her family with a soft red flower like frame.

"Is that what you wanted?" Lee asked.

September didn't reply, she just kept staring at the picture.

Lee turned to check the door.

"My mom made this." She said.

Lee stood silent.

"She told me that as long as I had my family, I'd always be home." A tear fell from her face and landed on the picture. Lee put his hand on her shoulder, she nudged away from him and began shaking angrily. "Why didn't I do more?" She asked while gritting her teeth.

"You did all you could." Lee told her.

"No, I didn't, and you know it. You know how to put others before yourself, just look at you." She snapped in frustration.

"They died so that you could live. The fact that you're still alive shows that you did all you could for them." Lee said.

She didn't respond.

"Come on, let's go." Lee said while kneeling down to her level.

She turned and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for helping me get this far." She said.

"Your welcome." Lee said while patting her back. With that they made their way to the door.


	9. Tunnel Hill

Day 228. Tunnel hill, GA, just below the border of Tennessee. Three months since Howe's. 10:34 PM.

Lee examined his knuckles using the large lantern that sat in the middle of the train tunnel. Lee Nate and September managed to block off both sides of a small tunnel with large wooden planks, two doors were built on both sides. "Looks pretty much healed up to me..." Lee said to himself. He turned to check on September. She was lying prone while reading a civil war history book with a flashlight. "Where did you get that?"

"In that house we scavenged through yesterday, the one with the confederate flag by the door." She answered in an uninterested tone without looking up from the book.

"That reminds me..." Lee said while pulling his duffel bag closer to himself then unzipping it.

"What?" She asked curiously, tossing the book aside then crawling closer towards him, excitement in her eyes.

"I found this today, thought you would need it." He pulled out a small blue leather jacket with buttons for the collar and wrists.

September slumped forward while being handed the jacket, "Oh, okay. Thanks." She said while dropping it and unzipping her old worn out purple jacket.

Lee wasn't bothered by her opinion of the jacket. He then turned to check on Nate. He was standing by the white door which was facing north of the train tracks that went through their camp. The door was on the very right of the wooden wall, built into the stone side of the tunnel. "Nate, you alright, pal?"

"just thinking... Maybe we should move north." Nate said while turning to face Lee while scratching his short beard.

Lee stood up, "How come? Seems like we're doing just fine."

Nate leaned against the stone wall, taking his hat off, "Because this is fucking boring." Nate said in an agitated voice, "Hey, kid. You like living like a bunch of homeless people?"

September buttoned her collar, "Are you serious?" She said with an intone while turning to look at him.

"Why the hell not?" Nate said while presenting his palms to them and lifting his shoulders.

Lee shook his head in a 'this guy can't be serious' fashion. "Okay, Nate. Where do you wanna go?"

"How about North Dakota?"

September scoffed. "How about no?"

"How about shut up?" Nate said, mocking her voice while tilting his head to the right. She simply rolled her eyes. "So what do you say, Lee?"

"Nate, do you know how far that is?" He asked.

"Do you know how much alcohol we can find there?" Nate said in a casually excited voice. "Think about it, Lee. You and me in America's number one state for alcohol."

"I don't think I like that idea." Lee said calmly while Nate began to give him a grave look. "I'm sure there are plenty of drug stores to turn over here in Georgia."

Nate balled up his fists, "We. Are. Going. To. North. Da. Fucking. kota." His said putting emphasis on every word.

"No, Nate. We aren't, you can if you want to." Lee said never taking him seriously the whole time. "No one is making you stay here."

Nate tried, "Lee I-" Before being cut off.

"Its settled, Nate." Lee said before sitting back down, September began to chuckle.

Nate calmed down and began shaking his hand next to his head with his index finger pointed, "Oh, I see whats going on here."

They tried ignoring him.

"You've chosen this little shit over your best friend, huh?" Nate said while crouching down between them. "Ever heard of 'bro's befo-"

"Nate." Lee interrupted.

"What?" Nate asked in an agitated voice.

Lee pulled a bottle of whiskey out of his duffel bag and handed it to him. "How about a drink?"

Nate eyed the bottle with a smile. "Yeah, okay, we can do that." Nate sat down and examined the whiskey bottle. "Jack Daniels." He said before unscrewing the top and taking a large gulp.

"Better?" Lee joked.

Nate gulped down a good amount of whiskey and then took a deep breath, "Much." He said before handing the bottle to Lee.

Lee eyed the bottle. It reminded him of chuck, how such simple advice's had been so crucial. "Sure." Lee said while taking the bottle and having a quick sip.

"Good stuff right?" Nate said in a much lighter tone than before.

September shook her head, "Are you sure its such a good idea to be drinking?"

Lee quickly replied before Nate could come back with a disrespectful comment. "It'll be okay."

She shrugged then got up and laid down on her cot bed.

Nate frowned, "That kid just does not seem to know to be quiet when the adults are talking."

"Really?" Lee asked while placing the bottle down.

"Yeah." Nate said while staring at the lantern. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I had a dog, once." He said before picking up the whiskey bottle and taking another sip.

"What was this dog's name?" Lee asked, taking interest in this topic assuming he could learn something about Nate.

Nate wiped his mouth having spilled some whiskey. "I named him Sam. He was a dumb dog, but I did manage to teach him to play catch."

"What happened to him?"

"I'm not too sure. I gave him to a friend. That asshole probably forgets to feed him." Nate stared up, lost in thought. "Forget the chick flick moment. We got booze."

"So, Nate, where were you before you gave me that ride?"

"I was driving. And before that I had a large group."

"What happened to them?"

"They all pretty much died." Nate yawned then laid back on his hands. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna sleep now."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea." Lee grabbed the half empty whiskey bottle and placed it back in the duffel bag, then he laid down next to it and fell asleep.

The next morning...

Nate pushed on Lee's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. "Lee!" Nate tried in a quiet but sharp voice. "Wake the fuck up!"

"What is-" Lee said before having Nate's palm cover his mouth. Lee could hear indistinct talking and the rattling of the door.

"Shh!... there are some guys trying to get that door open, I don't think they know we're here yet."

Lee got to his feet, "Maybe we could just talk to them."

"I don't think so, these guys smell like trouble to me." Nate said while aiming his AK-47 at the shaking door.

"Alright, what do you wanna do?"

"Well we've got bullets."

Lee shook his head then quickly pulled his pistol out from its holster. "Well let's hope this is the right choice. Wheres September?"

"Shes still sleeping."

"Wake her up, quick."

"The fuck good is she?"

"Just do it."

Nate gave a look of annoyance then quickly ran over and shook her awake. Lee kept his aim at the door. A moment later September and Nate ran back beside him and took aim.

"Let's just try talking to them first, maybe they're friendly." Lee said.

"Yeah, we all remember what happened last time we trusted a stranger." Nate said in an agitated but quiet voice.

"This is different, last time you tried to run some kid over." Lee stood up and began to approach the door that was close to being broken open.

"Lee, they don't know we're here. think about whats at stake here, you, me, this girl, and your chances of finding that Clementine girl."

Lee stopped in his tracks, unsure what to do. What are his chances of finding Clementine? Then again what are his chances of survival. Either option could cause their deaths.

"Fuck all that, the world isn't over yet. the reason why so many people die now is because we've lost our trust."

September shook her head. "Its too risky, Lee I-" She was cut off by the door being kicked open. Everyone turned, guns pointed forward. They could see several silhouettes in the doorway.

"Hello?" A stranger called into the dark cave.

"We don't want any trouble." Lee called.

The people standing outside raised their guns.

"Don't shoot!" Lee yelled.

"Too late!" Nate said before raising his gun and firing several rounds in all directions including through the wall, September followed in firing her snub nosed revolver rounds. In the blink of an eye all that could be heard was the sound of gunshots. Lee, Nate and September instantly got down onto the ground, prone while firing. Lee could see at least two people had fallen to the ground outside. There were several bullet holes in the boarded wall. After a couple of seconds the gunshots ceased.

"Be on your guard." Lee whispered before crawling towards the entrance, once he reached the open door he peaked out to see five deceased bodies of what looked like soldiers. "What the?" Lee said before standing straight up and heading outside.

"What is it?" September called to him while running outside with Nate following just behind.

"We just killed members of the military." Lee said.

Nate scoffed. "You told them that you didn't want any trouble and what did they do? they shot at us, don't lose too much sleep."

Lee stared down seeing four men and one woman wearing tan T-shirts and military combat pants and boots now covered in blood and bullet holes. Nate took his knife from his pocket he then bent down and stabbed the female straight in the head. Lee sighed as he watched September join in.

"Doesn't look like they have too much on them. Maybe they have a camp or some cars not too far from here." Nate inferred.

"And probably more soldiers." September added.

"Even so, we might find some good supplies." Nate said while searching through one of the male soldier's pockets finding a few bullets. "You in, Lee? or are you going to disagree with us again?"

"I guess if you two are going, I am too." Lee said.

"About time you grew some balls." Nate said before taking the lead down the train tracks, the temperature had risen and the walkers had began to get faster again, so they had to hurry before any walkers reached their camp. After a few minutes of walking quietly ahead through the tree line they could see a road.

"Maybe they came in a jeep or something." September said.

"We'll see." Lee replied. Once they reached the road they looked down both sides but they discovered to the left was a large military six wheeled truck with a tarp on the back.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot." Nate said. A woman opened the driver's side door and climbed out from behind the steering wheel. The three looked at each other, unsure.

"Hi there!" The woman yelled to them as she jogged up to them.

"Hello!" Lee yelled back. Once she was a few feet in front of them she stopped, she was very light skinned woman with dark red hair who was maybe in her mid thirties.

"You folks look pretty weathered, how have the dead been treating you?" She said in a country accent. "What're your names?"

"I'm Lee and this is Nate and September."

"Hey." September greeted, Nate kept his arms crossed.

"Good to meet you all." She said with a smile. "Have you all by any chance seen my people anywhere?" Lee turned to look at Nate and September they were as unsure how to answer as he was. "Look, if something happened, you can tell me."

"We saw them." Lee said. She looked at him with worried eye. "They're dead." Her eyes widened and she put her hands on her forehead.

"Oh my God... what would've..." She said, obviously shocked by the news. "Where are they?"

"At our camp." Lee said.

"Then that must mean..."

"We were defending ourselves." September added.

"God I knew this would happen... Well, this isn't the first time they did this. I'm so stupid I should have gone too." The woman said. "Jan was always taking things from people."

"Whats your name?" Lee asked.

"Mallory." She said, without making eye contact, still processing what she had just heard.

"Mallory I'm sorry, We tried our best to avoid it."

"Its okay, it wasn't your fault. Would you please show me them?"

"Are you sure?" Lee asked.

"Its not the first time I've seen my friends dead." She said a sad tone.

"Alright." Lee said before turning towards the tracks and leading the group towards the tunnel. "Where were you when this all started?"

"We were stationed up in Atlanta but they never told us they were bombing the city. I nearly lost my life." She looked over her shoulder to September. "I'll bet you've seen plenty of terrible things."

"Maybe." September said.

"Where were you when this happened, Lee?" Mallory asked.

"I was on my way to prison." She suddenly looked nervous. Nate smacked his forehead in disbelief that he would reveal such a thing to a stranger.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I uh killed someone."

"Oh, uh well I guess now it doesn't matter. We've seen way worse things happen nowadays."

"I'm not so sure

"Well, I don't know. I think who we were matters."

"I think who we ARE matters. The past is gone, its time to move forward." She said. "At least, that's what my mamma used to tell me."

"I really appreciate that." Lee was confused as to why she was so calm after hearing her friends were dead.

"See that tunnel straight ahead? that is where we met your friends." Nate said with a grin. The four of them silently walked towards the deceased soldiers. Two walkers had found the bodies and were feasting on them.

"We were only gone a few minutes." September said, confused as to why walkers were showing up.

"The gunshots were pretty loud, and I think they can smell the dead." Lee told her. Mallory pulled a combat knife out from her right pocket. One of the walkers got up and and made its way towards her, mouth and hands covered in blood, limping ever so close to her. She quickly and furiously stabbed the bald, male walker straight in the center of the forehead then quickly pulled it out.

"Not bad, but I think I can top it." Nate said while pulling his pocket knife out and while holding it by the blade he pulled his arm back and chucked it at the second incoming walker, stabbing it right in the eye. "Damn! did you see that, Lee? how was that?" Nate turned to see Mallory simply staring down at her friends, emotionless.

"I told them it was wrong, what they were doing." Mallory said. She then turned to look at Lee. "We should bury em."

"Well, if you wanna start digging, go ahead." Nate said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, we should probably get our supplies and go. More and more of the dead are gonna show up before long." Lee said.

"Why not hide in the tunnel until they clear out?" Mallory said.

"Your friends are going to be walker chow by the time they clear out, IF they clear out." Nate said with arms crossed.

"Please stop treating them like that. You already killed them." Mallory said calmly. Nate didn't reply, he simply looked away without a care.

"Would it be okay if we burned them?" Lee asked.

"I guess there isn't really a choice at this point." Mallory said with much sorrow in her voice. She pulled her pistol from her holster and began to aim it at her head.

"Whoa, hold on now." Lee said. September stood, trying not to smile. Nate didn't really show that it bothered him much.

"Id probably be dead had I gone with them anyway, might even be dead tomorrow, who knows." Mallory said before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she opened her eyes and looked up at the trees. She began to slowly pull the trigger. Lee began to slowly move towards her. Nate ran towards her from behind and kicked the pistol out of her hand before she could fire. It landed a few feet in front of her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Nate said in a casual tone. Mallory held her hand, her ring, middle, index finger were red from Nate's kick.

"It was my choice." Mallory stated in a low tone. For a few moments nobody spoke.

"Look!" September yelled pointing towards the way they just came from. Several walkers were both gathering onto the tracks from the left tree line and the right and making their way towards them.

"Quick! inside!" Lee yelled grabbing Mallory's arm. Everyone made their way into the tunnel, September grabbed Mallory's pistol and was the last to enter the tunnel. Lee quickly attempted to shut the door but found that it was broken due to the actions of Mallory's friends.

"Now they're going to be eaten." Mallory said in a panicked voice, putting both her hands on the sides of her head.

"They're going to get in, we can't stay here!" September said while packing various items into her small backpack.

"My truck is just through the other door, I say we just hightail it out of here." Nate suggested before putting the duffel bag over his shoulder and resting it on his back then picking up his AK-47. "Well, come on if you're coming." Nate said while making his way towards the southern tunnel entrance.

"Nate's right, we gotta move." Lee said just about to follow Nate's lead.

"What about her?" September asked. Mallory was on her knees staring straight at the tracks. Walkers had already begun to tear apart the bodies that were just outside. A sea of walkers could be seen through the many bullet holes that had been shot through the wooden planks.

"Mallory! come on we gotta move!" Lee yelled to her.

"You're right." She before she turned towards where her friends were and walked out into the light of day and was grabbed by two walkers and pulled to the ground behind the wall, a second later Lee could hear her screams of agony. He shut his eyes and put his hand on his forehead.

"Damn it..." He whispered.

"Lee! Come on!" September yelled as a walker made its way into the tunnel. Lee quickly turned and ran out the other door.

"Here, you're driving." Nate said while giving Lee his keys. Lee quickly ran to the truck and hopped behind the wheel. He placed the keys into the ignition and turned them, the truck hesitated to start.

"Come on! start!" Lee yelled. after a few seconds the truck started. Lee shifted to drive then looked ahead to see several walkers covering the train tracks. Nate banged on the roof.

"Just go already!" Nate yelled. Lee pushed the gas pedal and began hitting walkers. Nate had been standing while firing his AK-47 at the incoming walkers, reducing the number of walkers that had formed in front of them. Once Lee saw an opening he honked his horn and Nate got down and he pushed the pedal all the way down, the needle to the speedometer began climbing past 40 mph hitting several walkers, the truck bounced whenever one was crushed under the tires, one of which hit the bumper then slid off the right side of the hood. After a couple of seconds they had escaped the crowd of walkers.

"Man..." Lee said, still hyped with adrenaline. He slowed the truck down to a reasonable speed. "Where are we gonna go now?" Lee said to himself while staring ahead. After five minutes of driving he found the road they were on before they found the tunnel , he turned right on it then, eventually, he took another right. After close to seven minutes of driving he made one final right turn.

"There it is." Lee said while driving towards the large 6-ton military truck. He pulled up behind it and got out. "Think we should take this truck?"

"Nope, that piece of shit is too loud and probably uses too much gas." Nate said before hopping out of the back of the truck and approaching the much larger military truck. "Besides, we aren't abandoning my truck on the side of the road." He said as he climbed the ladder to the back of the truck.

"Apparently these guys were more like bandits than soldiers." Lee said.

"They were pretty good bandits, then." Nate said as he looked through the tarp of the truck.

"They've got supplies?" Lee asked.

"Check this out." Nate pulled out a large green army bag which had several military grade assault rifles sticking out of it.

"I think I would be more excited if I could actually use one of those." Lee said.

"Don't worry I'm sure there's something in here for you." Nate tossed the bag down to Lee. Lee caught it then tossed it into Nate's truck. "I don't think you can just catch any of these crates."

"I'll help." September said.

"If you say so." Nate said in a nonchalant tone before carefully handing down a small crate it fell six inches before she caught it. She grunted and began to carry it towards the back of the truck. Lee stared at his only hand and sighed. Nate pulled another gun bag out and whistled to Lee. "Hey, don't worry about it pal."

"Sure." Lee said as Nate tossed the gun bag down. "You know, it might be a bit easier if you and September switched jobs."

"I guess you're right, wanna switch jobs kid?"

"Sounds good." She said as Nate climbed out of the truck.

"So where do you wanna go now?" Nate asked.

"Hopefully not North Dakota." Lee said.

"Seriously."

"Do you think walkers can swim?"

"So the coast then?"

"Yeah, I've got a good feeling about the coast."

"Hey! can we hurry up? those walkers could turn this way at anytime." September said while tossing down a crate. Nate barely caught it. This process continued for a couple of minutes until nothing remained to be taken. "Okay, that's it."

"Well then let's go, getting boring around here really fast." Nate said while getting into his truck. September climbed out of the truck and made her way to the passengers side door.

"Lee?" September called. Lee was staring up at the clear blue sky. "What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing, just thought I heard something." Lee turned and began to walk towards the truck.

"You like birds or something?" September asked Lee as she buckled her seat belt.

"Getting kinda of tired of sitting next to the kid, Lee." Nate said. Before Lee could reply he heard what sounded like a helicopter, it was coming his way. Lee turned in the direction of the sound. Everyone got out of the truck and stared off at the sky. After a few moments of anticipation a small black helicopter being followed by a trail of smoke flew uncomfortably close to the treeline and flew over in the opposite direction of the trucks, then crashed somewhere past the rear treeline.

Lee stared at the smoke in the distance, eyes widened with uncertainty, "What the... hell?"


	10. Following the Smoke

Nate sped towards the smoke on the horizon,  
"Lee, why are we even bothering with a helicopter crash? Its bound to get the dead moving in that direction."

"What if someone is still alive?" Lee asked.

"I still don't see the point." Nate replied while sharply turning left at the end of the road to make his way around to the next road in order to get closer to the crash.

"They could use our help, and If they have a helicopter then they must be pretty organized which could mean a lot of things."

"Bill seemed pretty organized too." Nate said while turning right on the road closest to the crash. The smoke was coming from the tree line to right maybe a quarter mile away.

"Give it a rest will you? Either way they might need our help."

"Whatever, looks like this is as close as we're gonna get." Nate said while pulling over, the smoke trail now directly to the right of the truck.

"You two stay here, If I'm not back in twenty minutes, go and don't look back." Lee said while unbuckling his seat-belt, opening the door and stepping out.

"Maybe I should come with you." September said.

"No, it'll be fine just wait here with Nate."

She nodded her head with a disappointed look on her face.

"I'll be back before you know it." Lee said while shutting the truck turned, entered the woods and began running in the direction of the crash. After around a minute of running he could see the helicopter wreckage, it was in several pieces, the tail was a few meters away from the body, the main rotor blade was bent and still slowly spinning and attached to the slightly sideways helicopter which had dug into the ground around the trees, the engine towards the back of the helicopter was on fire, causing the smoke. There were three male walkers approaching the wreckage. Lee pulled his knife from its quiver and ran up behind the first walker and stabbed it in the back of the head then pulled his arm back releasing the knife as its own weight carried it forward. The other two turned and began to make their way towards him. They were both around six feet apart from each other, one closer to Lee than the other.

"Auuungh." The closer one moaned, arms outstretched towards Lee. Lee quickly forced the knife under its chin, killing it then pulling his knife down then backing up as the bald, grey skinned, walker fell towards him. As the final walker approached Lee kicked its chest knocking it to the ground, he then bent down and stabbed the walkers' temple, turning the knife counter clockwise for good measure.

"Now to check for survivors." Lee stood up and began slowly walking towards the body of the helicopter. There was only one man who appeared to be unconscious. Lee climbed into the helicopter, coughing from the smoke, and unbuckled the mans' safety belt then began dragging him out of the helicopter and away from it. Once he was a couple of meters away from the wreckage he stopped and examined the man. He was a lanky, long haired, Indian man with glassed and a short beard. Lee put his ear onto the mans' chest.  
_"A pulse!" _He thought.

"Raaaugh!" An almost skeletal female walker approached from the left of Lee. He pulled his pistol from its holster and quickly shot the walker through the side of its head. Lee then put his arm under the man and slung him over his shoulder, he then turned and began lightly jogging in the direction of the road.

"D-Damn it.. maybe I should of, brought Nate with me." Lee said, struggling to carry the man. After two minutes of carrying the man he could see the truck ahead. "NATE!" Lee yelled. Nate and September came running towards him.

"Found someone?!" Nate asked as he ran towards him.

"No shit." Lee said just as Nate approached, "Here, take him." Nate carried the man as you would a female, behind the knees and upper back. September ran and opened the truck bed door, Nate placed him down.

"Well, hes breathing." Nate observed.

"Think he'll be alright?" September asked.

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor." Nate said.

"Why is he unconscious?" September asked.

"Could be from the smoke." Lee said.

"Really? Seems like we got to him pretty fast though."

"Looks like there is a bit of a bruise on the side of his jaw." Nate said. "Could of just been knocked out by hitting his face in something, takes a little while for the smoke to knock you out, I think, and we got to him around two minutes after the crash."

"Well, then I guess all we have to do is wait for him to wake up." Lee said.

"Well, I say we lay him on the truck bed and get moving." Nate said.

"I'll stay in the back with him. Let him know what happened once he wakes up." Lee said.

"Sounds fun." Nate said while walking towards the drivers' side door. September climbed into the passengers' side and pulled the door shut.

"Always the first face they see when they wake up." Lee muttered as he moved the man off the side, lying him on top of a gun bag, then He got in and sat on the left rear corner of the truck bed. Nate started the truck and began driving straight ahead. Lee stared at the smoke as they moved further and further away from it.

After fifteen minutes the man awoke placing his left hand on his left temple.  
"Ooooh where am I?" The man asked with a heavy Indian accent.

"We pulled you out from that wreck." Lee informed him.

"Wreck? I must of hit my head on impact because all I remember is losing control of it." He said.

"So whats your name?" Lee asked.

"Aaqil, and you?"

"Lee."

"Good to meet you, and thanks for the pick up."

"No problem." Lee said.

The man eyed his missing arm.  
"So you got bit, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Smart that you cut it off."

"I actually did it too late, apparently, based off what I've heard."

"Did you pass out prior to cutting it off?"

"Yeah."

"Fascinating, maybe you are immune to the bite. If so, I feel bad for your arm."

"Me too. So, uh, what were you doing with that helicopter?"

"Well I was flying..." The man said with a smile.

"But why?"

"I was just, uh.. out for some fun." The man said nervously.

"Do you have people you're with?" Lee asked.

"Well, yes I do."

"Would you like us to drive you to them?" Lee asked.

"Uh, sure, if that is alright."

"Alright, where are they?"

"Summerville, the courthouse."

"Alright, You hop in front with Nate and give him directions."

"Sounds good to me."

Lee knocked on the glass behind Nate, he then pulled over to the side of the road. Nate held open his door and peered out.  
"Hey there sunshine, how was that crash?" Nate asked.

"Nate, this is uh.."

"Aaqil." Aaqil reminded him.

"Yeah, and we're going to take him back to his people in Summerville."

"Sounds like fun..." Nate said in a tired tone.

"Right, well then I'll just get in front then." Aaqil said climbing out of the truck bed and walking around to the passengers side door. September opened the door and hopped out of the truck and made her way to the back. Aaqil and Nate shut theirs doors, September climbed into the cluttered truck bed then Nate started the truck back up and they began driving down route 27 yet again.

"So, why do you think he was in that helicopter? I didn't see any supplies at the crash." Lee asked September.

"I don't know, what did he say?"

"He said he just went for a ride."

"Huh, weird. Think he's hiding something?"

"I don't know, we'll have to be careful once we get to this place." Lee said while waiting anxiously. An hour passed, they drove over the Henry branch river and made their way through the town. Most of the building had brick exteriors. Several walkers lined the littered, devastated, town.  
"It seems odd to camp out in a town, they must have a lot of people with them."

"Then there isn't much we could do if they aren't friendly then?" September asked.

"Maybe they're friendly, if not then we'll deal with it, like we always have."

"Yeah." September agreed with a smile. Nate pulled up in front of the towns historic court house. There were wooden walls constructed along the four pillars that stood at the top of the steps leading towards the entrance, the brick building to the left of the court house had wooden walls connecting to the court house. There were several male guards of various ethnicity and ages on the roof tops above. Each appeared to have heavy grade military assault rifles and body armor. Nate and Aaqil stepped opened their doors and stepped out of the truck, Lee and September hopped out out the truck bed. The four stared at the camp.

"Well here we are." Lee said.

"I want to apologize." Aaqil said.

"For what?" Nate asked.

"For bringing you here." Aaqil said with a grave tone.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked. Before Aaqil could reply one tall and very large dark skinned man who had a long beard and dreadlocks wearing a black trench coat approached while being followed by four plainly dressed men with different assault rifles. The man stopped in front of the small group and stared at Aaqil.

"What happened to the chopper?" The man asked in a very deep intimidating voice.

"I uh, the helicopter malfunctioned and crashed into the woods, I'm lucky I survived." Aaqil said, nervously.

"I see." The large man said while walking up to the group, he kneeled down in front of September, he was about two feet taller than her while in this stance.  
"What your name?" He asked her.

"September." She replied looking up at him, unafraid.

"Hey, September, my name's Lamar."

"Good to meet you." She said, shaking his hand.

He stood straight up and glared at Lee and Nate.  
"What are your names?" He asked in a plain manner.

"I'm Nate and this is Lee." Nate said in an oddly friendly manner.

"Alright..." Lamar then turned to Aaqil then picking him up by the throat with his right hand and proceeded to slowly crush his neck. Aaqil pulled at his hand trying to free himself, to no avail.  
"You crash MY shit, huh?" Lamar said while tightening his grip.

"Hey!" Lee yelled then ran towards them to try to break it up. The man turned and punched Lee straight in the face with his left hand knocking him down in the direction the punch was traveling, he blacked out.

_Lee stared up at the motor inn sign that had shut off the night before. Lily approached Lee, leaving her father to help Kenny with building the wall._

_"Hey, Lee, you got a sec?" Lily asked._

_"Whats up?" Lee replied._

_"I just wanted to apologize since my dad nearly... got you killed."_

_"He does that often? getting people killed I mean."_

_"No, Its just that night we, I guess all went through a lot and he wasn't in the best mood."_

_"We're all in this together though, being in a bad mood isn't an excuse to start killing people."_

_"Yeah, I know. I hope you'll give him a break." _

_"Giv-" Lee began but was cut off._

_"I mean forgive him, sorry."_

_Lee shook his head,  
"If he gets off my case then I might consider it."_

_"Yeah I'll talk to him about that."_

_"I'm not mad at him though, I just want to keep the group together."_

_"I hear you." Lily said while walking off in the direction of her father._

Lee slowly awoke with a massive migraine.  
"What.. where is..." He said realizing he was in a dark room all alone with nothing but the dim light under the door in front of him, he tried to stand but couldn't, his hand was bounded by a chain to the ground. He could hear muffled screaming coming from somewhere within the building.  
"Hello?! what the fuck is this?!" Lee yelled, hoping to get a response, he was greeted with no such luxury. He could hear what sounded like chains and footsteps walked towards him, then he saw a shadow pass by the door and kept moving.  
"Hey! Let me out of here!" He yelled in a panicked tone, again he was ignored.

"Uhhhh... God... keep it down, will you?" An unknown voice moaned in the dark room.

"Who's there?" Lee asked.

"What does it matter? we're fucked anyway." The man said in a very low, depressed tone.

"What do you mean?"

"You were unconscious when they dragged your sorry tail in here, if you saw what I did, you would surely know what's to come."

"What are you talking about? Are they going to kill us?"

"Yes, but it isn't just that..."

"What else then?"

"I believe these people lure people here to collect their supplies and... eat them, I know this because I passed by their uh, 'kitchen' when they brought me in here."

"Fuck... I've actually met people like that before, just fuck why?"

"The world is a nightmare now."

"Is there anyway out of here?" Lee asked while fighting with the chains that bounded his hand.

"I'm afraid not, best if we just made our peace with God and pray for a quick death."

"I don't think so, I've got an idea." Lee quickly grinned in the dark.

"Really? well if it actually works for you I hope you'll consider helping me out of here too."

"I will, I promise." Lee said before biting down on his arm, drawing blood. He could do this since his jacket, shoes, and belt were confiscated.

Another couple of hours passed and nothing changed. The bite on his arm still there, and stinging.  
"Come on... are they ever going to come back for us?" Lee asked.

"Eventually... If so this'll be my fifth dish of oat meal..."

"Alright." Lee said, thinking several times about what he was going to say. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching.  
"Please, don't pass by." Lee whispered. A shadow appeared under the door and stayed there, a second later keys could be heard jingling and lock tumblers could be heard clicking.  
"Thank God." Lee said as the door swung open.

"Rise and shine, boys" The man at the door said while shining a flashlight at Lee's face, his eyes were bothered by the light.  
"You boys are going to have some fun here." The stranger at the door said while placing a bowl in between them.

"You don't want to kill me." Lee said.

"I don't, its messy, but a man has got to eat."

"I'm immune to the walker bite." Lee said.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, look at this." Lee said while lifting up his arm, the man shined the light over it.  
"This happened a day or two ago. And no fever."

"So what? if you're immune why do I give a shit?"

"I was on my way to washington when we found your buddy, I was going to meet up with people I met who could possibly cure this plague with my DNA."

"Bullshit."

"Fine, but next time you get bit you'll wish you had listened to me."

"Dammit... wait here." The man said while turning and locking the door.

"That was a hell of a bullshit story." The other man said with a laugh.

"Just eat your oatmeal, man."

"The name is Mitchell, by the way."

"I'm Lee."

"Good to meet you, you crazy bastard."

A couple of minutes later two shadows appeared in front of the door then the door swung open a second time, this time Lee could see a much larger silhouette, most likely the man who hit him.  
"Get him on his feet." Lamar said.

"Yes, sir." The much shorter man said while crouching in front of Lee and unlocking his chains.

"Come on, Lee, we have much to discuss." Lamar said in his deep voice.

Lee got to his feet, "Sounds good to me." With that Lee followed Lamar with the other man just behind, making sure to shut the door on the way out. Lee could see a long hallway leading to a stair case, there were tables with dimly lit candles, it was incredible dark to the point where it put Lee at unease.

"LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" An enraged man said in one of the rooms they passed by.

"Damn..." Lee said as he followed the large man in front of him. They made their way down the stairs, Lee saw curtains to a room close as they approached, but Lee could still see because there was a slightly spaced opening in between the curtains. He got a quick glimpse as they passed by, he saw blood inside the room then a saw began roaring loudly after they passed.

"Lets head into my office." Lamar said while opening the door to the outside. Lamar held the door open for Lee as he exited the building into the late afternoon night. Lee turned to see several people of various ages wearing only gowns and dirty jeans the men had overgrown beards, each was chained by the neck, stuck to the brick wall, they were horribly skinny. Some were loading magazines others were cleaning uniforms. All had a look of complete agony and tire. Lee simply shook his head as he followed Lamar. They entered the courthouse and made their way past the courtroom. Lee remembered his trial. Then they entered the room where the judge would normally retreat to after the trial ended.  
"Here we are, Leave us, Darian." Lamar ordered.

"Of course." Darian said while shutting the door behind him. Lee saw a desk, a recliner, a wooden chair, and some metal drawers in the room.

"Please sit." Lamar said as he made his way to his recliner. Lee sat in the chair in front of the desk, eyeing the lantern in front of him.  
"Let me see your hand."

"Sure." Lee said while extending his hand next to the lantern, the bite was now visible.

"Interesting... this happened two days ago?"

"Yeah."

"The dead man was able to bite through your jacket?" Lamar said while crossing his arms.

"No, I wasn't wearing it at the time."

"What happened to your other arm?" Lamar asked.

"When I first got bit I cut it off." Lee said.

"That doesn't make you immune."

"I did it after the infection spread through my body, I actually passed out and one of my friends discovered the bite."

"And you're still here..."

"Yeah, I went through a massive fever about a day ago and I woke up and I was fine."

"You think you can stop this plague? The people down in DC know what to do with you?" Lamar asked.

"Yeah, I met some people who were studying bite victims and they tried to get me to Washington after we discovered I was immune but, well they died and I met those other two later on, we've been moving north as best we could. Those people told me I must get to the oval office, there are a few more details if you want to hear them."

"Naw, man, I believe you." Lamar got up and approached a window to the right of him and pulled on a string until the blinds pulled all the way up, allowing light to invade the room.  
"That piece of shit plague killed my family... and I'll be damned if I don't kill this thing."

"I'm sorry about that..." Lee said, suddenly noticing his jacket, belt, and boots lying in the corner with a machete. Lee slowly stood up and approached the pile of items, keeping an eye on Lamar as he did so.

"My boy... my girls... and my wife... all dead." Lamar said while still staring out the window. Lee picked up the machete and made his way towards Lamar.  
"My beautiful, innocent wife... she told me, before she died to keep, the kids, close, and never let them get bit... You have given me hope that now we can get back at these things." Lamar said, sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry, Lamar." Lee said, Lamar snapped his head up but before he could react Lee planted the machete into the back of his head, instantly killing him. He fell to the ground with a thump, Lee looked down at him, there were tears on the sides of his face. Lee sighed then turned towards his things and put them on. Lee made his way to the door with his knife in hand, but he turned to look at Lamar one last time, though he was a bad man Lee felt sympathetic towards him and he died believing there was a chance to save the world, Lee crouched and slowly opened the door, nobody was there.  
"I gotta find that Darian guy." Lee whispered. As he snuck by the stand and past the jury seats, he suddenly noticed Darian standing alone by the double doors, unarmed.

"Do this, do that. Why not 'hey Darian'? or 'hows it going Darian'?" Darian ranted to himself.

Lee snuck closer to him then sheathed his knife and pulled his gun on him, "Don't make a sound." Lee ordered. Darian nodded while showing his hands.  
"Is there anyone else in this building?"

"J-Just me and Lamar, there are six others on the roof of this place, they use a long ladder on the side of the court house to get up there. Also there are four guys on the roof of the building you were imprisoned in, along with one guy that is working the kitchen, thats eleven other people. Now please don't kill me."

"Turn around and I won't."

"Okay, alright I can do that." The small bald maybe in his mid twenties man said as he turned around.

"See ya." Lee hit Darian with the butt of the gun, knocking him unconscious. Lee then dragged him out the door, through the hall and outside, he left placed him into a green pickup and shut the door. The people who were chained up to the brick building were looking at him, he simply put his finger in front of his mouth as a way of asking them to be quiet, they all nodded. Lee picked up a gas can from the back of the truck, it was full. He kept his eye on the roofs, hoping nobody would notice him, he entered the courthouse and began dumping the gas all over the floors, he poured gas on the jury stand, the judges stand and even Lamar's 'office'.  
"This outta deal with those guys on the roof." Lee then fished throughout the room until he found some matches, He then made his way back outside, making a trail of gas lead up the courthouse, then he threw a match. The trail lit on fire and spread all the way inside. Lee then ran to the ladder and knocked it over.  
"Now to deal with that cook, fast." Lee turned towards the brick building and ran towards it and opened the door, the he entered the 'kitchen' Seeing the cook bent over, chopping human flesh.

"Ladade ladado ladadum" The chef sang as he chopped. Lee pulled his knife from its quiver and slowly walked up behind him.  
"LADADEE LADDADOOO LADDADUUUM!" the man in chef's attire sang while slicing meat, causing blood to gush everywhere in the process. Lee then stabbed the man through his neck. The man fell to the ground and rolled around in extreme agony, choking and knocking over a stand in the process. After a couple of seconds the man stopped moving. Lee shook his head and felt like puking. He then realized that he had to hurry. He ran up the stairs and past the holding rooms and up to the roof where the four other guards were standing, keeping watch, they hadn't noticed the smoke yet when they did they all sprung up and stared off at it in disbelief. Lee kicked one of the men causing him to fall off the roof he then grabbed the next man and put his arm stub around his neck and shot a third man in the back of the head.

When the last man turned and raised his gun he saw one dead man, and one man being held against his will.  
"Let him go!" The hispanic man in body holding a military grade assault rifle ordered.

"Put your gun down and you'll both be spared." Lee said.

"No way!" The man said.

"Please just do as he says." The man Lee was holding with a gun to his head pleaded.

"A-Alight..." The man dropped his gun, when he did Lee shot him through the eye and then shot the man he was holding they both fell to the ground, motionless.

"I'm sorry..." Lee said as he made his way back into the holding rooms, he quickly glanced at the men on the roof of the other building, they were panicking.

One hour later...

The courthouse had been completely scorched and had collapsed in some places, some of the men on the roof jumped to their deaths or suffocated. Lee had freed almost everyone, including Nate and Mitchell, he hadn't located September yet.

"Nice fucking work, Lee." Nate patted Lee on the back.

"I killed a dozen people today..." Lee said, shamefully.

"And you saved three dozen others, I've never seen anyone pull something like this off, single handed."

"Yeah I guess."

"Don't sweat it pal, you did good." Nate said while putting his hand on Lee's shoulder then walking off.

Mitchell approached, now Lee could see him in the light, he was a light skinned man with dark brown hair and a short beard.  
"You did it, Lee, you regained my freedom, I don't know if I have god to thank for that, but I will thank you for it."

The two shook hands, "Sure, man, I made a promise didn't I?"

"It was one hell of a promise. I'm gonna go find my boy, I'll catch you later." Mitchell said while turning and walking off to look for his son in the crowd.

Lee also turned and looked towards the crowd for several seconds, he didn't see September.  
"Fuck..." Lee felt ashamed like his decision to chase the helicopter only caused more death. Lee looked towards the ground in sorrow.

"LEE!" A familiar voice called. Lee sprung his head back up and saw September running towards him. He bent down and the two embraced, tears were rolling down her eyes. She looked up him and said:  
"You saved me."

Lee smiled and petted her hair.


	11. Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Day 289, Coosawattee river, Carter's Regulation Dam, 8:58 AM

Lee was walking along the riverside making his way towards the dam they now called home, Mitchell and Nate were not far behind, they both were carrying green canvas bags with squirrel, Raccoon, and some salmon fish. Lee stared ahead up at the orange tents and cars scattered along the dam, traveling to this location wasn't easy, having so many people to worry about.  
"Hey, Mitch, what happened to Eren? I thought you were going to show him how to fish and set up snares." Lee asked

"He isn't feeling well. He's been coughing all morning, he told me he wanted to stay behind and rest."

"Well, I hope he feels better soon." Lee said while pulling his hand-radio from his belt he pressed the button and put it close to his mouth, "Sep, you there?"

_"Yeah, are you almost back?" _September responded.

"Yeah I'll be there in five minutes, get someone to open that gate for me."

September coughed and said:  
_"Will do."_

"You alright?" Lee asked.

_"Yeah, just had a little bit of a cough."_

Lee turned to Mitchel as they made their way up the hill beside the dam,  
"Sounds like there is a cold going around." Lee said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Mitchel assured him.

Nate spoke up, "Maybe we should go out and find some meds... beats hanging around the damn, well... dam."

"Maybe we'll do that." Lee said as they approached the yellow school bus which blocked the way to the dam so walkers couldn't pass through, there were several walkers lining the area beside the bus. They nailed wooden planks and boards onto the lower side skirt of the bus so walkers couldn't crawl under. The bus door opened, thanks to the old man sitting in the driver's seat. the three men climbed into the bus, there was a large hole cut into the side of the bus, two seats were removed behind the drivers seat. Lee and Mitchel climbed out through the opening of the bus.  
"You two bring those bags to Gretchen." Lee said while walking towards Nate's truck that was parked in the middle of the camp.

"Eye-eye captain witness." Nate said.

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Mitchell questioned.

Lee approached the truck and opened the passengers side door. September was sitting there, drawing in her notebook. Lee attempted to sit beside her.  
"Hold up, idiot, I don't think that's such a good idea." She said with a sniff.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, I just don't wanna get you sick."

"Why not go rest in the tent? Its too hot to stay in the truck."

"I wanted to keep watch." She said looking out the driver's side window.

"Well today is a sick day, just go to the tent and take it easy, that's your job for the day."

"Alright, Lee." She said before scooting towards the passenger's side door and hopping out, Lee stood there and watched as she made her way over to the tent.

"Lee, we've got a situation." A very slim blond woman in her mid forties said while running up to Lee from behind with panic in her voice.

Lee turned to face her, "Gretchen, what's wrong?"

"A large herd of walkers is on its way, they must of heard the gunshots we've been letting off this week, and I think we're about to encounter an outbreak."

"A what? what are you talking about?"

"Jack and Sigrid are dead. The cold that's going around, is lethal."

"Fuck... we gotta go out and find some med's, get two people ready within the next five minutes, we're going on a run."

"Lee, I don't think that is such a good Idea. That herd is very large there's no way you are going to get through it and even if you do its going to blow through our camp."

"Have Nate and Mitchel take our bikes and make their way up stream, then have them fire some flares far off in that direction." Lee said while looking her straight in the eyes and pointing east.

"They won't be able to get through that herd!" She said, stressed.

"If you cover yourself in their scent they won't be able to tell the difference, basically smearing their blood on yourself, do you understand? they'll be fine."

"I do."

"Get me two other people so we can go get some medicine and have Yusuf tend to the sick as best he can before we return."

"Alright, Lee." With that she ran off towards the tents on the north side of the dam, the opposite side of the herd's movement.

Lee ran towards the bus on the south side, Nate and Mitchell were leaning on the bus talking.  
"Hey, Lee, everything alright?" Mitchell asked.

"No, I need you guys to take the bikes and travel upstream and fire our flares, and fast, a herd is on its way."

"No way." Nate said, Mitchell gave him a displeased look.

"Cover yourself in their blood, there are some bodies by the bus, there are ponchos under the seat of your truck, use those."

"Sick fuck." Mitchell said.

"It'll keep you alive, just listen to me okay?"

Mitchell shook his head, "Alright, Lee, I'm in." Mitchell said.

"Well I guess It could be fun, riding bikes and firing flares, then again maybe not." Nate said.

"Great, good, thanks guys." Lee said.

"God help us." Mitchell said while following Nate to his truck.

_"Lee?"_ Gretchen called from Lee's talkie.

"Yeah?"

_"I've got you some people to help."_

"Good, send them to me." Lee said.

A minute later, Jeremy, a Caucasian male with short blond hair, in his early twenties, Isabel, an Asian woman with long black hair, in her late thirties, stood before him with blue ponchos and backpacks and silenced assault rifles.  
"We're ready to head out." Isabel said, but not in any accent she spoke similar to how Carly spoke.

"Alright, go smear walker blood on you, I'm sure Gretchen already explained this to you." Lee said pointing to the bus. They nodded and jogged towards the bus. Lee grabbed his radio,  
"Gretchen, if the plan fails, get everyone moving north."

_"You got it." _She replied.

_"You had better not die." _September said through her radio.

"I won't." Lee left his talkie on a crate near the bus. He walked towards the bus and made his way through it.

"Here, Lee." Jeremy said while handing a poncho and backpack to him as he stepped out of the bus.

"Thanks." Lee said as he dropped the backpack and pulled the poncho over himself. Isabel and Jeremy stood staring at him looking slightly nervous. Lee bent down and stuck his hand into the already cut walker's stomach and began smearing the poncho with it. Lee then grabbed the backpack and swung it over his shoulder.

"Now or never I suppose." Jeremy said.

"Yeah." Lee stood up and turned towards the southern road, the only road with the nearest town.

"You guys get back safe, you hear?" The old man said while tying up the bus door with thick rope.

"We'll be back soon, Desmond." Isabel said to the old man as they began walking away.

They walked on for several minutes until the incoming heard was visible.  
"Are you sure about this Lee? Look at that!" Jeremy stated in a panicked tone.

"Calm down. I've done this enough times to know that it works."

"Alright.. okay." Jeremy began taking deep breaths.

"Just don't make a sound alright?" Lee asked before hearing a loud shot in the distance. He turned to see a bright red light shooting up into the air then turning and falling towards the earth. Lee turned to see the herd speeding up and traveling towards the direction of the flare, they were maybe 300 yards away.

"Lee, can I go back please?" Jeremy asked in an increasingly panicked state.

Isabel shook her head, agitated, "Jeremy, shut up, we will be fine."

"Here they come, just follow right behind me." Lee said slowing his pace, about to meet the herd within the next minute. Lee turned to check on them Jeremy had a look of complete terror. Lee heard another flare, then another. The herd was moving across the road at an angle, through the woods, down to the river. Another set of flares were fired. Lee was the first to step into the herd, he made his way through being bumped and tossed around. His path and the herds could be described as an 'x'. It was difficult to travel like this, it seemed as though Lee took two steps and began stumbling. After several minutes of moving through the herd Lee could still hear nothing but the moaning of the walkers, and the last firing of a flare. Lee heard light sobbing, he turned to see Isabel covering Jeremy's mouth as they followed, Jeremy had tears rolling down his face.

"Shh..." Isabel said, trying to keep him calm.

"lets go back, please." Jeremy said, muffled, causing a walker to turn and look at him then turn and continue to follow the flow.

"We can't, just look we're almost through it, its just a little further." She whispered to him. She wasn't lying, the road was well in sight just a couple of yards away, most of the herd had already moved into the woods and towards the river at this point.

"Keep it together back there." Lee whispered then, as he turned to look ahead he bumped into a very large, grey skinned, walker then began stumbling back only to hit another, the flow of walkers caused him to lose his footing, he fell and began being stepped on by the ever moving crowd of walkers.  
_"Shit... I gotta get back up, fast." _Lee thought, when he thought he saw an opening he sat up and used his arm as leverage but was knocked back down onto his side. Lee could see nothing but the shuffling of legs all around him, Isabel and Jeremy were nowhere in sight. Lee turned onto his stomach and began crawling against the flow, hoping the herd would subside. Lee felt a sharp pain from all directions, the dead were stepping on him and tripping and falling on him. Lee felt a sharp kick to the head, he shut his eyes and clenched his teeth then continued to crawl on his arm and drag himself forward. Eventually the herd seemed to thin and Lee had his chance to stand up. When he did he looked around for his companions and saw they standing outside of the herds movement, waiting anxiously. Lee made his way towards them as he did he turned to see the road was almost completely clear of the dead.

"Are you okay?" Isabel whispered as Lee approached them, trying to not alert the small amount of walkers that remained.

"Yeah... I'm okay." Lee responded, feeling winded, the three walked on leaving the small remnants of walkers behind them.

"Are you sure? there are a few bruises on your cheek and forehead." Isabel asked, now not needing to whisper due to the distance between them and the herd.

"I'll live now lets hurry up and get those supplies."

"How much further?" Jeremy asked.

"Well on foot it'll take around six hours." Lee replied.

"Shit, where are we going?" Jeremy asked.

"Calhoun, its the only place around that still has supplies." Lee said.

"But six hours? are you for real?" Jeremy asked while walking backwards in front of him.

"I left a jeep on the side of the road a little further down the road, Nicklesville road, right there, on the turn." Le explained.

"You just think of everything, don't you?" Isabel said.

"I left it there on accident, in all honesty. Remember when I was gone for a few days?"

"And you showed up covered in mud?" Isabel joked.

"Yeah, I got lost when I went out looking for a deer I saw in the road."

"Well, I guess we're lucky that you never went back for the jeep." Isabel said.

"Yeah, we are." Lee said as he eyed the turn, the rear half of the red jeep could be seen at the end of the treeline to the right.

"Why didn't we just wait for the herd to pass before coming down here?" Isabel questioned.

"Yeah, Lee, the hell?" Jeremy joined in.

"There are people who are sick down there. Jack, and Sigrid just died, we don't wait when it comes to things like this. Also I wasn't sure how large this herd was."

"Doesn't matter now lets just get this done." Isabel said as they approached the jeep.

Lee pulled the poncho hood off and went around to the driver's side and opened the door finding the keys on the seat.  
"Right where I left em..." Lee said as he picked them up and hopped into the jeep. Jeremy shut his door for him and climbed into the seat behind his, Isabel sat in the seat beside Lee. Lee placed the key in the ignition and turned it, the jeep roared on. Lee grabbed the stick-shift and shifted to drive then pushed on the gas pedal. Lee turned back onto the road and began driving, the road was clear, no cars, no trash, no bodies. Just a road and the trees on both sides.

"So you know where in Calhoun the medical supplies would be located?" Isabel asked.

"The hospital?" Lee said with a smirk.

"Right." She said while turning to look out her window.

Lee put his amputated arm on the wheel then used his hand to lower the rear view window. He gave his beard a look, he had stopped shaving for awhile and his bead had grown about two centimeters below his chin,  
"You guys think I might need a shave?" Lee asked as he put his hand back on the wheel and continued to drive.

"No way, man. Beards give a guy character." Jeremy said.

"What about walkers?" Lee joked, Isabel laughed.

"So? I don't like walkers, whats the big deal?" Jeremy said while crossing his arms.

"Most of the population of Georgia is walkers." Lee replied.

"Yeah, you have to get used to them eventually." Isabel said.

"Eventually is not now, though, so lets drop it." Jeremy said.

"Alright." Isabel said.

"Think we've got a good spot where we are? The dam, I mean." Lee asked.

"We're alive aren't we?" Isabel replied.

"Most of us." Lee said while continuing to stare ahead.

"If there is somewhere better where we can go, I'm not seeing it." Isabel told him.

"You're right, our spot is fine." Lee said. They drove on for about forty minutes, they were now driving down an express highway which had four lanes and multiple turn off points. Lee turned right and on exit 301 and began traveling down towards street level when he reached the broken stop light at the end of their exit route they turned right to see multiple large white buildings with huge parking lots such as an eye care center, a large pharmacy, and a hotel.

"Oh hey! look! there is a hospital just down the road I can see the sign!" Jeremy exclaimed happily.

"I've been there once." Isabel stated.

"Oh really? when was that?" Lee asked as he turned into the parking lot and made his way to the entrance. The parking lot was devoid of any walkers, the whole city seemed empty.

"Last year, when I had my baby." She said a in low tone.

"I'm sorry, Isabel... had I kno-"

"Its alright, we have a job to do so there isn't any time to be sentimental." She said while raising her poncho hood.

"Alright." Lee said as he parked close to the entrance of the hospital. The three got out, Lee approached the now out of power automatic doors.  
"Get ready." Lee said, they both nodded with their assault rifles in hand. Lee turned and knocked on the glass doors, nothing, no sound from inside.

"I guess its empty." Jeremy said.

"Guess so." Lee began to pull on the glass door to the right, it opened without much struggle.

"Well lets go find those med's." Jeremy began to step inside until he heard a moan, he snapped back in fear. Isabel pulled the glass door shut. After a couple of seconds around two dozen walkers crammed against the glass.

"So much for empty." Lee said while looking at nurses, doctors, and patients furiously scratching at the door.  
"How about you two clear the door?" Lee asked.

"Lets step back, then." Isabel said while backing towards the sidewalk. Isabel and Jeremy both raised their silenced M4 carbine rifles.

"Well at least their easy pickings at this point." Jeremy said. The two took aim and began firing at the walkers, glass shattering, half of the walkers fell to the ground the others tripped and fell out of the hospital slamming against the concrete and were quickly picked off by the two heavily armed survivors.

"Lets get moving." Lee said before pulling out his flashlight and making his way inside the other two did the same carrying their guns by this middle and carrying a flashlight in their other hand. They entered Lee shined his flashlight around and saw dozens of bodies covered in bed-sheets neatly stacked in the large waiting room. They searched room after room finding small amounts of medical supplies in each room such as: Band aids, various tweezers, scissors, and many other useful medical supplies.

"Hey, Lee I found some cephalosporin, uh, cephalexin and uh..." Isabel said reading the labels of the antibiotic bottles.

"Just grab all of them, Yusuf will know which ones we need." Lee said while placing several bottles of various types of medicine into his backpack. After half an hour of scavenging their backpacks were full. They made their way towards the shattered doors, ready to head back to camp, until they stopped having seen a dark skinned man with a grey jacket bent over the passengers side door looking into the glove compartment. Jeremy and Isabel raised their guns at the man.

"Hey, pal? you looking for something?" Jeremy called. The man turned to face them with his hands to the sky.

"Sorry I disturbed you folks, I didn't know anyone owned this vehicle, please, lower your guns." The man pleaded.

"Lower your guns." Lee ordered his allies as he approached the unarmed man. Lee stood in front of him and held out his hand,  
"What's your name, man?"

"Jan." The man said while lowering his hands and shaking hands with Lee.

"I'm Lee and this is, Jeremy and Isabel." The both waved to him.  
"You got a camp or somewhere you live at?"

"I used to until I was left for dead for questioning the man in charge." Jan said.  
"That was a couple of months back, how come? you inviting me into your camp?"

"I am." Lee said with a nod.

"Well I accept, and thank you."

"Don't mention it." A minute later the four entered the jeep and began making their way back to the dam.  
"Just so you know: our people are a little fucked right now, there's a sickness that kills you within forty-eight hours going around."

"I'm sure it'll be alright." The man said while staring out the window to the right behind the seat Isabel is sitting in. Over half an hour later they approached the turn off point towards the dam. Lee stared at Jan through his rear view mirror. Jan had a short beard and well-cut hair, he kept on looking out the window as though he were keeping an eye out for something.

"We're about two minutes away." Lee said.

"Good." The man said, half paying attention. Lee shrugged. Once Lee approached the bus he pulled over beside it and was quickly greeted by Gretchen and Yusuf. Lee stepped out and handed his backpack to Gretchen.

"Lee, everything went according to plan. The walkers never bothered us and Nate and Mitchel got back in one piece, and-" Gretchen said.

"We got a new member for our community, his name is Jan." Lee replied, ignoring what she said.

"Oh, okay, good." She said leading Jeremy, Isabel and Yusuf inside. Lee took off his poncho and tossed it to the ground.

"Thank you, Lee, I appreciate you allowing me to stay." Jan said while entering the bus, Lee followed right behind him. They both hopped off the bus.

"So, Jan, what happened with your last group again? just curious."

"It was a big community with an asshole in charge of things, I uh... questioned his methods of keeping everyone safe and he took me for a ride and abandoned me on the side of the road, I just barely survived the ordeal. Then I met a few people here and there and they told me about this place up north, Wellington."

"Wellington?" Lee asked while leaning against the eastern wall of the dam.

"Yeah, this uh hug place with lots of land, and fresh water, and huge walls, plus the cold winters would slow the walkers, sounded like a good deal but it's located in Michigan, I would never make it that far."

"Maybe we should all move there." Lee suggested.

"I think it'll be worth it, you should have seen the look on this bearded guy's face when I told him."

"Hey, Jan could you go get my radio off that crate over there?"

"Sure, pal." Jan turned and began walking towards the radio.

"Hey, Lee.." September said approaching as though she had just woken up. Lee turned to her,

"How's it going Sep?"

"Alright, everyone was just going crazy earlier, freaking out, I told em: 'Lee is gonna fix this' but they just wouldn't shut up." She said while rubbing her eyes.

"Well some people died today."

"People die everyday." She said while leaning against the wall with him.

"True." Lee admitted.

"That, Yusuf guy told me to go see him soon."

"Well, then you probably should." Lee told her.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"September?!" Jan called standing still about five feet away, Lee turned Jan and back to September, confused. September's eyes widened then she ran toward Jan,

"DAAAAD!" She exclaimed, he bent down and spread his arms out. The pair hugged, tears beginning to roll down their faces, Several other survivors watched the reunion, all with smiles and hope in their eyes after everything they had went through in the past couple of months. Lee stood there watching the father and daughter hold each other, he felt warmth from it. Jan stood and approached Lee with September holding his hand,

"Thank you, Lee, for looking after my little girl." Jan said while handing the radio to him.

"She's looked after me more than I did her." Lee said with a smile as he put his radio onto his belt.

"Just like her mother, selfless and brave." Jan said while looking down at her.

"She sure is." Lee agreed, Jan shook Lee's hand firmly. September hugged Lee,

"You found my dad.. " September said with a cough.

"Go on, take your dad with you to see, Yusuf." Lee ushered with a smile. September turned to her father and together they began walking towards Yusuf who was standing by a tent watching with pills in his hand and a smile on his tan, bearded, face. Lee watched them walk away feeling joy for the two finding one another in this world riddled with death and loss, he then looked down at the walkie- talkie which rested on his hip, and he remembered or rather realized that he was still missing someone.


	12. Saying goodbye

Day 296, Coosawattee river, Carter's Regulation Dam, 1:43 PM

Lee was sitting in Nate's truck with the door open, letting his legs hang as he watched his people load up the vehicles he took from Lamar's camp before their pilgrimage. Jan filled their minds with the promise of a future, safe from disease, safe from starvation, and safe from the dead, Wellington. Mitchel walked towards Lee and leaned against the the truck, beside Lee. There was a brief silence.

"Are you sure about this?" Mitchel asked before turning to Lee, awaiting a response.

Lee sighed and turned to Mitchel,  
"These people will be safer there, I'm sure." Lee said.

"I mean about not coming with us, the others don't feel right leaving you."

"They will be fine, both Gretchen and Jan know what they're doing."

"Lee, you saved every last one of these people, more than once, they see you as family." Mitchel said slightly raising his tone. Lee paused, turned and eyed September helping her father pack a green bag into the jeep he used to travel to Calhoun and considered his friend's words about leaving,

"Sometimes... family's break up. And they don't see each other for awhile, then after some time they live together again. I've made my choice, Mitch." Lee told him, without turning to look at him.

"Each has there own." Mitchel said in a sorrowful tone.

"I'm sorry, Mitch. This wasn't an easy choice for me, the rest of my family is still out there."

"I understand." Mitchel said while pulling something out of his dark brown jacket,  
"Here."

"Huh?" Lee turned to see what is was his friend was giving him, a glove, a grey glove with strong material.

"I thought maybe because you use a leather jacket to prevent being bitten that a glove would also do the same for you."

"Thanks, Mitch I really appreciate this." Lee said while looking down at it.

"The day we meet again, we'll shake hands like we did after the burning of that retched court house." Mitchel said while slipping the other glove he had on his right hand, he could do this since the gloves weren't made to be worn strictly on the left or right hand. Lee placed the glove in his lap and slid his fingers into the glove then pulled the glove on with his teeth.

"That man, Lamar was once a good man, he had a lot of hate for this plague, It's what killed his family and I think I gave him hope before he died, but it was only brief because before I killed him, I apologized, then I think he realized in that split second, that there was no hope of ending the plague."

"I don't have sympathy for him." Mitchel said while shaking his head.

"I don't either, I'm just wondering if I should have killed him, letting him hold onto false hope."

"I think you did the right thing, regardless." Mitchel said before walking off towards a light blue sedan to join his son and Jeremy in packing various bags for the trip.

Lee turned towards the northern end of the dam where the other bus was blocking off that end. This was the way everyone was going to travel within the next hour. Lee hopped out of the truck and approached the northern bus which Nate was sitting in and would later back out of the way to let the other survivors drive out. Lee climbed into the bus smelling something strange, he then made his way towards Nate, he could see smoke clouding around Nate's hat, also he was sitting with his feet kicked up on the wheel.

"Nate?" Lee called, confused about the smoke.

"I'm over here, Leeeee..."

"Yeah I can see that, what are you doing?."

"Smoking some pot, want some?" Nate said while holding up a blunt. Lee sat down in the seat behind Nate and leaned back to relax,

"Hell no." Lee said without much interest.

"What's the matter, Lee? you afraid of the most soft-core drug on the planet? or are you gonna miss that psychopathic kid?" Nate said before sticking the blunt in his mouth again.

"I'm just curious on what your plans are."

"I'm sticking with you, buddy, you're my boy for life! wooo..." Nate said before tossing the blunt out the window.  
"After you do that stuff for awhile it gets less thrilling."

Lee gave a half grin and shook his head, "Nate, why did you pick me up that day?"

"I was honestly going to turn you into road kill, until I saw your injury, I got slightly curious, a guy surviving on bullshit supplies with a bullshit car AND on top of that this guy had one arm. Why wouldn't I stop to pick you up?"

"So, why did you choose to stick with me all this time?"

"Why am I still here? I dunno, maybe your just too much fun to kill. Maybe I want to be your 'witness'."

"You're not going to let that go, are you?"

"Damn right." Nate turned and watched the others pack, load, and refuel the vehicles.  
"That guy, Jan, just took everything you have."

"Excuse me?"

"He took your cars, he took your supplies, he took your people, and he took your little she-devil."

"He didn't take anything from me, those people are going because they want to survive, I chose to stay. Those supplies are as much mine as they are everyone else's, and that's his daughter, its a miracle that they found each other."

"So, finding that other little girl is as much of a long shot as them finding each-other?" Nate said in a demeaning manner.

"...Yeah, I guess." Lee said.

"If I were you I-"

"Yeah, I think I get the point." Lee said, slightly frustrated.

"I wonder if anyone else is staying." Nate said, changing the subject.

"I don't think anyone else will." Lee said, watching the other continue to prepare for their trip.

"So, where are we heading next?"

"Maybe we'll travel way down south, been scouting up here for too long."

"Sounds like fun.." Nate said in an lifeless tone.

"I'm gonna go see if the others need help or something." Lee said while standing and making his way off the bus.

"Well, I'll be here."

Lee saw Gretchen adding fuel to a red hatchback, a car with two doors that could seat four people but requires the front seats to be positioned closer to dash in order for rear-seat passengers to enter.  
"Hey, Gretch." Lee said leaning on the driver's side door.

"Oh hello, Lee, you sure you don't want to come along?"

"Yeah, I'll head that way in a couple of months, right now I'm staying in Georgia."

"Well, alright then." Gretchen said before placing the red gas can down and placing the gas cap back on.  
"What if your girl is in Wellington?"

"I don't think she would be."

"How can you tell?"

"My friend, Christa never liked big groups."

"People can change."

"I'm not so sure that Christa would."

"I don't think Jan even knows where this place is."

"Doesn't matter, we didn't know where this place was but we still found it."

"If you say so."

"Look out for Jeremy, he isn't good around walkers."

"What about September?"

"She can take care of herself, I'm sure."

"Well, I think we should get going before it gets any later."

"Yeah, only a few more hours of sunlight left." Lee said as he turned to the bus Nate was sitting in.

"Lee, also."

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we're all proud of you, and appreciate how hard you have worked to keep us all going."

"I'm glad to hear that, be safe Gretchen." Lee said as Gretchen approached him and hugged him.

"You too, Lee." Gretchen said before turning away from him and grabbing her radio,  
"We're leaving in five, copy."

Lee walked towards the passenger's door of the red jeep a couple of car lengths away where Jan and September were sitting inside, ready to leave.  
"Hey you too."

"Hey there, Lee" Jan said.

"Hey, Lee." September said in a low tone.

"Just wanted to say goodbye before everyone left." Lee said.

"Well, Lee I cannot tell you how grateful I am." Jan said.

"You don't owe me anything, Jan."

"Pfft, alright be humble then." Jan joked.

"September, are you alright?" Lee asked, noticing her staring down at the floor of the jeep.

"Lee, could you please come with us?" September asked before raising her head to face him.

"No, I'm sorry." Lee responded sadly.

"Maybe she heard about Wellington and is on her way there." September persisted.

"Maybe, but I just can't take that chance." Lee said looking at her as she began to tear up.  
"Hey, come on now... you-you're stronger than this, you can do anything."

"September? Honey?" Jan tried to avail, she covered her face and lightly sobbed.

"It'll be alright, September." Lee said. September pulled on the handle of the jeep and tried pushing it outwards, Lee backed up as she did, confused. She hugged him tightly,

"Don't go..." She pleaded. Lee felt incredibly saddened by that plea because it wasn't the first time he heard it. Lee put his hand on her shoulder and light pushed her back as he got down to her level.

"September, once you get to Wellington you'll be safe, safer than you ever were since the day this all started. I want the rest of my family to be there so I won't be able to walk in with you but I'll be there, I promise."

"Alright... I'll go... I'll leave..." She said, eyes shut and sniffing sharply. Lee was fighting back the urge to tear up,

"Be safe, September." Lee said as he stood up.

"I want you to have something." September said while quickly turning to the jeep and opening the glove compartment, she pulled out her notebook and held it out to Lee. Lee took it, eyeing the blood stains from her more temperamental days,

"Thank you, September." Lee said.

"Oh and you gave me this awhile ago." September pulled out his snub nosed revolver which she had carved a flower into the side of,  
"I won't be needing it in Wellington." She said.

"You might need it on the way there, though." Lee said with a smile. He had rarely let out a smile these past few months.

"You might need it more, just take it." She said with a grin. Lee placed the notebook down he then took the revolver and slid it into his right jacket pocket.

"Alright, well that's it then." Lee said as he picked the notebook back up.

"I'll save you and Clementine a spot and maybe Nate too... probably not." She said while climbing back into the jeep.

"Ha. Alright, I appreciate it." Lee said, shutting the door to the jeep.  
"Take care, Jan."

"I will, Lee." Jan nodded and started up the jeep. Lee stepped back and watched as Nate backed the bus out of the way of the line of vehicles. Once it was clear Gretchen slowly accelerated off the dam and onto the road. The line of cars, trucks and other vehicles followed her lead, Lee watched the red jeep until it was out of sight. Lee placed his palm on his forehead and sighed.

"Hey, Lee." A female voice called from behind. Lee turned to make eye contact with the voice, confused. It was Isabel and Jeremy standing before him with two crates lying beside them.

"Isabel? Jeremy? why are you two still here?" Lee asked.

"We decided to stay, neither of us have any blood-related family anymore so we don't have anything to lose." Isabel explained.

"Yeah, plus we kind of owe you one." Jeremy said.

Lee shook his head. He was displeased because now, he still had people to have to worry about.

**Author's Note: Sorry about this chapter, I've been pretty busy. The next two chapters are going to be a little different but I'm confident that you guys will like them. **


	13. Morality

Day 353, Keg creek, GA, 10:32 AM

Nate watched the water flow endlessly, he stared up at the tall pine trees overhead seeing birds make their homes in the tall branches. He found it incredibly boring... he stood up from the log in which he was sitting and stretched widely. He turned towards the orange tent in which his one-armed companion was resting, stricken with a fever. Jeremy sat patiently beside the tent. Isabel entered the tent about a minute or so ago, ensuring to wear a rag to avoid contracting Lee's sickness. Nate stepped over the log and approached Jeremy,  
"So... is he felling any better? its getting very boring around here very quick."

"No, I don't think so." Jeremy replied.

"Great." Nate said just as Isabel ducked out of the tent and removed the rag from her face.

"He isn't looking too good. We need to get him some meds before he gets much worse." Isabel explained.

"So, did he say where we could look?" Nate asked, staring anywhere but her eyes.

"I saw a farm not too far from here. Lee says he thinks a Vet or someone used to live there, it is a white two-story house."

"Sounds great, point me in the right direction." Nate said.

"Just cross the river and keep heading west, it should be maybe twenty minutes away, just follow the trail." Isabel explained.

"Well, I'll be back in a hour or two then. I'll be sure to bring back something for you." Nate said as he turned and began making his way along the river.

Nate made his way to a small wooden bridge located not too far up stream. Once the bridge was in sight he noticed a thin female walker with blood-stained overalls, slouching in her stance. Patches of light-brown hair on her head were missing. Nate approached her, unarmed. She was turned facing away from him.  
"Good morning, maam." Nate said while standing at the end of the eight foot long wooden bridge.

"Uuuunnnggh." The female walker let out as she turned and made her way towards Nate, shuffling.

"Come on now, don't be shy." Nate said as he extended his arms to give the incoming walker a hug.

"Raaaunnngggh!" She snarled angrily as she reached Nate and grabbed his right arm tightly and attempted to bite it.

"Ha! Gotcha!." Nate said as he kicked the walker back causing her to fall flat on her back then quickly with a single firm stomp he crushed the walkers forehead inward.  
"So this is why mama always said I'd never find the right woman." Nate said with a slight laugh. Nate continued on for some twenty minutes, following the path through the woods up until he could see large fields that appeared to have been trampled and weren't able to grow back whatever was planted since there were only weeds sprouting up. In the distance he could see a damaged white two-story house and charred remains of what was once a barn beside it.  
"Well that has got to be it." Nate assumed as he made his way towards the destroyed fences which surrounded the farm. Nate noticed several dead bodies which littered the property. Nate was about to step onto the porch to enter through the door but he stopped when he heard what sounded like people talking. He quickly hid around the left corner of the house, the side with the burnt down barn.

"Well, that's everything." A tall man with long brown hair and sideburns said in a southern accent as he made his way down the steps.

"We should get back to camp. My dad is waiting for these meds." The younger man with blonde hair suggested in a similar accent while they stepped over the knocked down fence.

"Why does it always come down to violence?... Because it's more fun this way." Nate whispered before he quickly but quietly paced behind them he picked up a skinny board from the broken fence and swung it with all his strength at the side of the blonde man's head. A loud 'whack' could be heard and blood was visible on the board, the man fell forward and laid motionless.

"What the fuck?!" The brown haired man carrying a black backpack said as he turned to face Nate, quickly reaching for his 44. Nate tackled the man and they both went down. Nate was quick to begin punching the man after five swings the man managed to used his strength and fling Nate off of him with his legs. Nate fell onto his side, causing his blue and white hat to fall off his head. He noticed a rock lying in the dirt. He grabbed it and as the man got to his feet, with a bloody nose, he pulled his revolver from his side and was about to draw on Nate but was stunned by a rock to the eye.  
"AHHHHHH!" The man bellowed in pain.

Nate sprang up and grabbed for the gun they wrestled for several seconds. The gun flew out of both of their grasps and landed a couple of feet away. The man fell to his knees from the confrontation and attempted to crawl towards his weapon.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nate asked as he grabbed the man's ankles and dragged him a couple of meters away from the gun.

"OKAY! STOP!" The man yelled in fear.

"Excuse me?" Nate said, about to begin beating on the man.

"You win, just take my bag and leave us be." The man pleaded with half of his face in the dirt.

"Atta boy! you do catch on quick." Nate joked as he took his hand off the mans head and backed out of his way. The man got to his feet, his cargo pants and green shirt covered in dirt. Nate walked over to the 44. Magnum revolver and picked it up. He aimed it at the man he had been fighting with.  
"So? the bag please?"

"Could I keep some of it?"

"What did you just say?"

"Please! my friends are very sick and need the medicine." The man begged with the backpack in hand.

"That sounds like a personal problem, drop the bag." Nate said.

The man gave him a grim look as he slowly removed his backpack from his back and placed it on the ground in front of him.  
"There, no trouble."

"Well, you're giving me a funny look and I'm not too sure I-" Nate said before being hit from behind and staggering forward.

"GRAB THE BAG! RUN!" The blonde man he had hit before yelled while running past him.

Nate held the side of his head and with blurry eyesight he scanned his surroundings until he saw two figures running in the distance. He began staggering his way towards them with pistol in hand.  
"Ahh... Karma... is a..." Nate said still feeling sharp pain on the side of his head.

"AHHHHH!" One other men ahead screamed in agony.

"Bitch." Nate said with a devilish grin. As he continued to move towards the scream he felt himself beginning to recover his sight cleared though he felt some blood formed on the side of his scalp. Nate continued to move towards the direction of the scream, towards the woods.

"AHHHH! GOD!" Nate heard, only a few meters away towards some tall wild brushes close to the trees.

"Shut up!" One of the men said in a hushed voice.

Nate stepped through the brush to see older dark haired man on the ground, with a broken leg that appeared to be twisted out to the right. The blonde man was helping or at least trying to help with the man's injury. A tree root was visible not too far from the two men. The two men eyed Nate as though he were a monster of some sort.  
"Holy shit! no way! that is sick." Nate said with a chuckle.

"HELP ME!" The injured man yelled to Nate.

"I've got six bullets here. Think that'll help?" Nate asked while moving towards the two, gun gripped in his left hand.

''You fucker! why don't you just leave us alone?" The blonde man yelled in spite.

"Because you two still have something that belongs to me." Nate said, now a few feet away from the men.

"Dammit!" The older man with the turned leg said through his teeth.

"If it makes you feel any better, I kind of like what you're doing with your hair." Nate said about to grab the bag.

"Sorry, Greg!" The blonde man yelled while quickly snatching the bag and running towards the woods. Nate turned and fired a shot through the man's leg before he could run ten feet. The man began staggering forward and slightly hopping on one leg, as he did Nate shot through his other leg. He fell to the ground, dropping the bag in front of him.  
"AHHH!" The man yelled while grabbing at his legs.

"I think you guys should probably consider giving me the bag." Nate said while staring at Greg.

"How could you do this to us?" Greg asked.

"Good question." Nate said before walking towards Greg and bending down beside him.  
"I guess I just don't know any better." He said with the look of a rabid animal, eyes wide with bloodlust. Nate stood and turned to the man he had just shot.

"Wait, you can't just lea-" Greg said before Nate lifted the gun and shot through the side of his head. Greg's head hit the ground, blood spraying and pouring along the ground.

"HELP! HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE!" The younger man yelled as he tried to crawl away.

"Whoa, easy now. I'm not going to hurt ya, little buddy." Nate picked up the backpack and swung it over his right shoulder.  
"But the dead ones might. This gun is pretty loud after all, so get to crawling boy!" Nate began moving towards the path-way back to camp.

"My people will find you! I swear it!" He yelled.

"I'm really scared now." Nate said sarcastically without looking back. The man continued to yell for help as Nate casually made his way through the woods. Eventually Nate couldn't hear the screams anymore. As Nate neared the river he turned to the left, no bridge. He turned to the right and saw the wooden bridge just as he had left it. He crossed the bridge and made his way to the right along the river. The log in which he was sitting on was dead-ahead only a couple of meters away. Once he reached the camp he saw Isabel sitting with Jeremy resting his head on her lap as she pet his semi-long brown hair.  
"Dammit, Jeremy. You beat me to it!" Nate joked as he dropped the bag.

Jeremy sprang up, embarrassed.  
"We weren't doing anything, man."

"Why so defensive? I'm proud of you, boy!" Nate said as he approached. Jeremy stood up,

"We're just friends!"

"Aw, we all know that's not true! just look at you blush like a little school-girl." Nate pulled him close and into a headlock and began to run his knuckles through his hair as you might a younger brother.

"Hey! cut that out!" Jeremy pleaded.

"Hey, Nate. What happened to your head?" Isabel asked. Nate let Jeremy go and rubbed his head,

"Oh this? A pot fell off of a shelf and hit my head when I was rummaging through that house."

"Where did you get the backpack?" She questioned.

"It was in the house along with a couple of walkers, your welcome by the way."

"And that gun?" She said while crossing her arms.

"In. the. house." He continued in his lie.

"Interesting, and those gunshots?" She persisted.

"I ran into a couple of walkers on my way back."

"Nate if you took this stuff from some people you met along the way, you have to let us know." She said as she moved closer to him.

"I think he is telling the truth. Cut him some slack, Bell." Jeremy said.

"Don't you have some nursing to do?" Nate asked.

"Yeah." She said with a distasteful glare as she placed the cloth back around her face, picked up the backpack and walked back into the tent.

"Sheesh, what a paranoid piece of ass." Nate said to Jeremy.

"Don't call her that, man."

"Wouldn't wanna get into a fight with you over it." Nate made his way towards the log and sat down, continuing to stare off at the trees. Nate sighed in boredom then laid down and stared at the clear blue sky. Jeremy came over and sat down beside the log towards Nate.

"You know, it seems like Isabel sees me as a brother or something. I, uh have been trying to be subtle and get to know her but I've never been with a girl before."

"Are you asking for advice?" Nate said with a chuckle.

"You've been with women before right?" Jeremy asked.

"Look, kid. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but, I never had a threesome before and the only times I ever get any are during one night stands when they're drunk."

"No, I mean I think I like her."

"Like? HA! Alright look kid, you need to grow some balls and toughen up or else you're not ever going to get that chick."

"Toughen up?"

"Yeah, stop being such a pussy and kill some walkers or something."

"I-I uh.."

"'I-I uh' am a scared little wimp with no back bone. How about later on I take you out for some practice? what do you say?"

"Sure, I guess that sounds good. You could show me how to not be afraid of those things."

"You have got to me kidding me..." Nate said, putting no faith in Jeremy. Nate closed his eyes, trying to relax.  
"Kid, you want to go fetch me a drink or something?"

"Sure, pal." Jeremy said as he walked towards the crate beside the tent.

"'Sure pal'" Nate mocked in a high-pitched voice.

Isabel made her way out of the tent and towards Nate. As she stood before him she tossed a red rag towards him,  
"Found that in the bag, along with a number of other things we didn't need."

"I cleared that house out, okay."

"Lee wants to talk to you."

"You tell daddy that you think I'm am being a bad boy?"

"No, I actually didn't even mention it. He asked for you and that rag is for not getting sick, if you haven't figured that out."

Nate stood and tied the rag around his face and stood.  
"Guess I'll go see what he wants."

Jeremy approached with a red bottle of rum,  
"Found it."

"You have the first sip, I'll be back in a minute." Nate said as he approached the tent. He lifted the tent's entrance to see Lee lying under a cover with wearing a white T-shirt. His beard and hair hadn't been cut in months so he had a messy afro he tried to contain in a grey ball-cap he found also a long Spartan beard had taken over his face.  
"Hello, witness."

"Hey, man. Thanks for heading to that farm for me." He said weakly.

"Yeah it was nothing, kind of fun getting away from this place for awhile."

"I'm sure it is."

"So you feeling any better?" Nate asked blankly.

"Considering that I just took the meds, no, I'm not feeling much different." Lee said with a slight laugh.

"Hopefully the nurse out there will get off of my case."

"What do you mean?"

"She thinks I robbed people to get these meds."

"And did you?"

"Lee, you know me better than this. Of course I didn't."

"Alright then." Lee said, doubtfully.

"Maybe we should of left Georgia like everyone else."

"You could have left if you wanted to."

"So is that all you wanted?" Nate asked.

"I wanted to ask if you think Hershel's farm looked like a place we could hold up in."

"Well, the barn is burnt the ground. The fences were knocked down. And the house looks a little rough around the edges."

"I guess not, then."

"Yup."

"I wonder if there is anywhere around here where we could stay."

"I know for a fact that there is a prison not too far from here, we could try there."

"That is actually a pretty good idea."

"So that it, Lee?"

"Yeah."

"Alright well then uh, get well soon and all that good stuff..."

"Uh, thanks. I appreciate it."

Nate left the tent and tossed the rag to the side and approached his log in which Jeremy was sitting with the rum. He snatched the bottle and began to drink it selfishly.  
"I guess we are going to jail later on."

"What?" Jeremy asked.

"Don't worry about it." Nate said as he finished off the rum and laid up against the log.


	14. Retribution

**Author's Note: My main computer has been hacked or so I think. I haven't been able to lengthen my stories the way I would like to, due to the lack of access to a computer. I am using my sister's computer without her knowledge, which isn't easy to do if you knew my sister. I will try to publish longer and better chapters in the future. Also I would like to thank you guys for reading this story. I know Lee stories are a bit outdated but I wanted to do this, thanks again and enjoy. **

Day 360, Chestlehurst road, GA, 8:58 AM

Lee had been walking for several minutes down a road which supposedly leads to a large correctional facility. Before that it had been a walk through the woods for about an hour or so. Lee had Nate, Isabel, and Jeremy stay near the river to avoid risking the whole group. Lee adjusted his grey hat slightly to the right and wiped some sweat from his forehead. Lee noticed a rectangular sign ahead on the right side of the road. He approached it, it read: _'HITCHHIKERS MAY BE ESCAPING INMATES'_.  
"I guess Nate was right..." Lee said while moving past a car which appeared to have been burned to a crisp. Lee continued on for maybe half an hour until he could see the prison ahead. He saw tall chain fences and even taller guard towers.  
"Well, there it is."  
Lee made his way up to the fence seeing vehicles of various kinds parked closer to the cell blocks.  
"Looks like there are people living here." Lee inferred as he walked along the fence line. He stopped because he saw a man walking with a boy in the distance. He turned to leave in case the people living in the prison weren't friendly.

"Can I help you?" A man called from the other side of the fence approaching from the left.

Lee turned to face the yard in which he heard the calling. A familiar face was approaching, an old man with one leg, crutches, and a fully grown beard,  
"Hershel?"

"Do I know you?" Hershel asked as he made his way up to the fence.

Lee's eyes widened with surprise, "Its me, Lee."

"Lee? I'm afraid I don't remember you." Hershel said as he stopped near the fence.

"When this all started your son gave me a ride to your farm."

"You mean Shawn? Then you were there when he was attacked... if I'm not mistaken." Hershel said with sorrowful eyes.

"I-"

"Don't be. It was my own fault for not seeing what was coming. Even after his death I still believed the dead were just sick people. For a long time I lived in ignorance."

"So, uh how are things now, Hershel?" Lee asked, trying to divert the conversation away from the current topic.

"They have been difficult, to say the least. What about yourself?" Hershel asked.

"Well I'm sure you have seen my arm." Lee said.

"Was it a bite?" Hershel asked.

"Yeah. It was." Lee said.

"I had a similar problem with my leg as you can see. But honestly I'm more concerned about that hair of yours." Hershel joked.

"I agree with you there." Lee replied humorously.

"What happened to the girl you were with?"

"I-Its a long story. We got separated and I've been looking for her ever since." Lee said.

"You are welcome to join us here. We're letting in anyone we come across. If she is in the area, we'll find her." Hershel assured him.

"Thank you but I can't." Lee said.

"Its too dangerous right now to be scouting around Georgia." Hershel told him.

"Hershel, everything we do is dangerous. If we go outside we're risking our lives. If we take a drink of water, we're risking our lives. Sometimes even breathing is risking our lives. The only choice we have now is what we are risking our lives for." Lee said.

"There is some wisdom in your words, I wont forget them." Hershel said.

"I have to get back to my people now, it has been really good seeing you." Lee said.

"Take care and remember my offer." Hershel told him.

"I will, and if you find Clementine, keep her safe will you?" Lee asked as he turned towards the road.

"I will." Hershel replied.

Lee began walking down the road, back to camp. He continued on for what seemed like an hour. At this point he was in the woods and probably not too far from where he left the others.  
"Maybe I'm just wasting my time..." Lee said to himself quietly. "She might have either left Georgia or-"

"Sir?" a deep voice called from behind.

Lee turned to face the stranger. It was an older light-skinned man with short grey-brown hair and a long grey goatee, also wearing camouflage pants and a dirty sleeveless tan shirt. He was accompanied by a younger woman with a similar complexion, she had red hair, wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans.

"Can I help you folks?" Lee asked.

The man looked to his female companion then looked back to Lee,  
"We're looking for our people."

"I'm sorry, I haven't met anyone else around here." Lee replied.

The female spoke up, "Do you have a group with you? Maybe they know what happened to our people."

"I seriously doubt it but you're welcome to ask them, if you want." Lee told her.

"Well, it's the only lead we have so far. Take us to them." She said.

"Uh, my name is, Lee, by the way."

The older man let out an irritable laugh, "Where are our manners? Sorry we're a little absent minded for obvious reasons. I'm Jorge and this is Tina."

"Now that the introduction is out of the way we would really like to get this going, we haven't a lot of time." Tina said.

"I understand." Lee said while turning to lead them towards the camp.

After two minutes the river was visible in the distance between the several trees ahead.

"So, Lee, what are your people like?" Tina asked.

"Don't worry, they don't bite. Most of them at least." Lee replied.

"Most of them?"

"Yeah, Nate can be a bit... unpredictable." Lee told her.

"I see."

"But he seems tame enough. I wouldn't worry."

"Hold up." Jorge said in a hushed voice instantly changing the tone. The three stopped in their tracks and began slightly crouching while looking around.  
"Do you see em?"

Lee began scanning his surroundings until he noticed a pair of female walkers up ahead,  
"Yeah."

"Looks like these two ladies are lost. Maybe we should help them." Jorge joked.

"Three of us, two of them." Tina said while pulling out a blue pocket knife.

"I can handle it." Lee told him.

"Really?" Jorge asked.

"Yeah, watch me." Lee said before he began jogging towards the two walkers with the others not far behind. He stopped ten feet away from them. He then picked up a palm-sized rock from the ground and walked towards the walker that was in a closer proximity.

"Auuugh..." The walker moaned unaware of Lee's presence. She had black hair and a dirty checkered dress. Lee readied his stance as he snuck up right behind the walker. After a second of anticipation he quickly swung the clutched rock in his hand and met bone with stone, knocking the walker over onto her side. He then proceeded to quickly deal one strong stomp to her head, smashing her head in.

"Raaaaauuuurgh!" The other female walker with brown hair, a torn pair of blue jeans, and blue shirt growled while advancing towards Lee, arms outstretched.

Lee took the blood-stained rock he was holding and chucked it straight at the incoming walker making contact with the right side of her forehead, penetrating her skull in the process, only stumbled by the attack. Lee advanced towards her as she did the same to him. He grabbed her by the neck and tossed her to the ground.  
"Auuraaagh!" She snarled while slowly attempting to get back up.

Lee stepped on the rock which pierced the walker's skull and it sunk down deeper into her head, killing her.

"Not too shabby." Jorge said.

"Lets keep moving." Lee said.

Six minutes later they could see the orange tent not too far ahead.

"So, how many do you have with you?" Tina asked.

"Three, but I used to have dozens of people to look after." Lee replied.

"Huh, so there's, Nate and?"

"Isabel, and Jeremy are the other two. Isabel, she can look after herself while Jeremy needs a bit of help from time to time."

The three approached the orange tent. Isabel and Jeremy were sitting on the log talking and tossing stones into the river. Nate was leaning against a tree to the right of them with his cap down covering his eyes. Isabel turned, noticing Lee approach with Tina and Jorge.  
"So, is this prison a go?"

"Nope. This is Jorge and Tina, they're looking for their people have you two met anyone else around here?" Lee asked.

"I haven't even left camp." Jeremy said.

"No, sorry." Isabel said to Jorge and Tina.

The two looked at each other with worry on their faces.

"What about you, Nate?" Lee asked.

Nate let out a long irritated breath then used his 44. to lift his hat off of his face,  
"No." He said plainly.

Jorge's eyes widened at the sight of the gun. He looked to Tina who paused for a moment then spoke,  
"Thank you for the help, we'll just be on our way..."

The two began walking past the tent.

"Everything okay?" Lee asked.

"No." Jorge said in a cold tone while walking away.

After they left Lee turned to Nate,  
"The fuck was that?"

"How the hell should I know?" Nate asked with laugh.

"You killed their people to get that gun and backpack didn't you?" Lee questioned furiously.

Nate stood and put away the 44. Magnum,  
"I did what was necessary. You are alive because of me."

Jeremy and Isabel stood, unsure of what to do.

"Fuck..." Lee said as he made his way towards the duffle bag next to the tent. He pulled out three M4 assault rifles, laying each one down beside him.

"What's all this?" Nate asked.

"We are leaving this place. That is what THIS is..." Lee said angrily while he zipped up the duffle bag and swung it over his shoulder.  
"Do you remember where we left the truck?" Lee asked Nate.

"Yeah, just up the highway." Nate said as he picked up one of the guns Lee laid out. Jeremy and Isabel did the same.

"So, wait up, you think they might come back to kill us?" Jeremy asked.

"Maybe, but that isn't going to happen." Lee said.

"So, where are we going now?" Isabel asked.

"I think it is high time we head up north, with the rest of our people." Lee told them as he followed Nate away from the camp.

"But what about, you know..." Isabel asked.

Lee sighed with a face of sorrow, "Sometimes... we all have to move on... The chances of me finding her are too slim..." Lee said in a low tone.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm alive aren't I? for all the good its done..." Lee said before silence fell on the group.

An hour and a half later the truck was in sight, covered in a white tarp. It began to rain several minutes ago.

"Well I guess next stop: Wellington." Nate inferred.

The group made their way towards the truck and began pulling the tarp off over the roof lights and onto the truck-bed. Lee tossed the duffle bag into the back while Isabel covered it with the tarp.

"I know what you just did wasn't easy for you, do you want to talk about it?" Isabel asked.

"I'm fine, lets just get moving." Lee told her.

"Okay, Lee." She said.

Nate opened the door to the passenger's side door and was about to climb in but stopped,  
"So, uh you sure about this?"

"There-" Lee said before being met with a shot to the shoulder. He fell onto his side and yelled in pain. He looked up to see Nate offloading a barrage of bullets towards the woods on the driver's side of the truck. He turned to see Isabel unconscious on her side facing away by the rear wheel, bullet holes visible on her back. Jeremy was firing back while yelling. Shots rang out around them. Lee examined his wound, just a flesh wound. He then attempted the crawl towards Isabel shots still firing on both sides.

"Isabel?" Lee called, still dazed by the situation.

He pulled her towards him and examined her face. Blood was pouring out of her mouth. Lee knew she was in pain so he pulled his pistol from his side and looked into her eyes, she looked peaceful as she laid in on his lap. Lee aimed the gun at her face and pulled the trigger.

"I'm sorry..." Lee said as he laid her down onto the ground.


	15. Moving on

**Author's note: I want to thank my readers. I really appreciate the reviews left for the last chapter. They were touching, compassionate, and inspiring. I often find myself thinking about what should happen to Lee next, often when I have any free-time or before bed. Between planning, research, and typing, more work is put into this story than I anticipated but it's all worth it at the end of the week. Anyway enjoy and please tell me if I am doing anything wrong, it's important to future improvement. Thanks again.**

Day 360, Chestlehurst road, GA, 10:55 AM.

The rain continued to fall...

Lee held his gun in disbelief, staring down at what remained of Isabel. Lee began evaluating the situation. There used to be two shooters across the road that Jeremy and Nate killed almost as soon as Isabel went down. On their side there were others in the woods firing various guns at them. Lee looked up to see Jeremy sitting against the rear wheel of the truck, tears rolling down his face. Lee then turned to Nate. Nate was leaning against the truck, focusing on listening to the gunshots. Every few seconds he would attempt to return fire when ever he heard that the gunshots had subsided but would quickly drop back down after hearing the gunshots followed by the bullets flying past his head.

"Lee, you've got to distract them for me." Nate stated.

"How many are there?" Lee asked.

"About three left, already took down four of them." Nate explained.

"Alright, I'll get their attention. Be ready to act when I say." Lee told him.

"Get a move on!" Nate urged.

Lee surveyed his surrounding, the road, the tree line. The only possible chance he had was running for cover by the tree which was ten feet directly behind the truck. Lee looked at Jeremy, who was pulling on his blonde hair in disbelief.

"Jeremy, listen to me." Lee said.

"She's dead, man. She really is!" Jeremy said in a panicked state.

"I know! But we need your help here."

"I-I'll try..."

"Good. Help Nate with taking out those guys in the woods, I'm going to run for cover behind that tree over there."

"Okay." Jeremy said while wiping rain water off of his face and grabbing his gun.

"Okay, here I go..." Lee said as he began running while ducking to avoid poking his head up and being shot. For around four seconds Lee sprinted towards the tree, free of cover. In that time six bullets flew towards him, missing each time.  
"Now!" Lee yelled right before reaching cover.

"Take this, ASSHOLES!" Nate yelled as he and Jeremy simultaneously stood up and began firing towards the woods, offloading what was left of their ammunition.

"Help! I'm hit!" Jorge yelled in pain behind a tree.

"Hold on!" A shirtless, black-haired, Caucasian man yelled in a southern accent. The man began running towards Jorge, dropping his AK-47 while on the way.

Lee pulled his pistol from its holster and aimed just in front of the man and fired a precise shot, hitting the man straight through the temple. The man collapsed and slid forward with momentum.

"Nice shot Lee!" Nate called behind cover.

Lee leaned against the tree and began peaking along the right side of the tree closer to the truck to start a body count. The two men that Nate and Jeremy killed across the street, the two others on this side of the tree line, Jorge rapidly dying beside a tree, and the man Lee had just shot, six down, one left.  
"I know you're back there! just leave and we wont harm you!" Lee called.

"Another one of your lies, huh?!" A high-pitched voice called within the woods.

Nate and Jeremy looked to Lee, confused.

"We don't have to make this any worse!" Lee yelled.

"Yes we do!" The unknown person called.

Nate pulled out his 44. and tilted his head, motioning to Lee that he had him covered.

"Fuck..." Lee said to himself as he peered along the opposite side of the tree, facing away from the truck. He didn't see anyone so he began slowly walking into the woods, gun in hand. He continued, ensuring to keep an eye on the dead scattered among the trees. He stopped, noticing Jorge's hand twitch. Lee suddenly felt a sharp pain course through his head. He fell to into the muddy ground in agony, unable to grab his forehead due to the lack of a left arm. He opened his eyes and turned only to find himself looking down the end of a barrel to an AK-47.

"Don't move." The stranger instructed him.

Lee looked past the barrel to see a familiar face, the boy in the road. He still had his brown jacket and his black hair had grown to his shoulders.

"You fucking liar..." The boy said with tears rolling down his eyes.

"Calm down its-"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled.

Lee didn't speak.

"You kill my dad, then my brother, and now my grandfather?!" The boy said edging the gun closer to Lee's face.

"I didn't do any of that." Lee told him.

"When are the lies going to end?-Actually don't answer that I already know, when I blow your face off, THATS WHEN!"

"He's not lying." Nate said as he approached, stopping and standing in front of Jorge's corpse, 44. Magnum revolver in hand.  
"Was this your brother's?"

"Get away from my grandfather..." The boy warned, still aiming at Lee.

Jorge slowly began to rise, dead, blood covering his chin and neck. Nate pointed the revolver at Jorge's head. The boy's eyes widened in fear. Nate quickly pulled the trigger and fired, without looking. Jorge hit the ground for the second time, never to get up again.  
"Was your brother's name, Greg? if so I just demonstrated how I killed him on dear old grampy here." Nate said with a demented look on his face, a twisted smile, eyes wide with excitement.

"S-Shut-" The boy said, trembling uncontrollably with a look of sheer anger and fear.

"Shut up? or what? you going to kill Lee? The moment you do I will kill you then I'll kill Tina and anyone else you have over in that camp of yours, genocide!" Nate told him with a devilish smile.

Lee himself was put at unease by Nate's behavior and choice of words.

"I'm going to..." The boy began slowly.

"Do it! PULL THE TRIGGER! COME ON!" Nate yelled with a furious look on his face.

The boy dropped the gun and turned, running away in fear. Lee watched him run away, guilt beginning to swell up inside his being. Nate approached and outstretched his hand to help him up,

"Come on, Lee, lets get moving." Nate said, expression changed to a friendly smile. Nate grabbed Lee's forearm and pulled him up to his feet.

"Nate, just... damn..." Lee said as he made his way towards the truck. Once he arrived at the truck he saw Jeremy crouched beside Isabel, head down.

"Come on, kid. There's no time to be sitting around mourning. walkers are bound to show up and maybe more of those redneck fucks." Nate said.

"Yeah, alright... Lets go..." Jeremy said before hopping into the back of the truck.

"You sure you don't want to sit in front?" Lee asked.

"I want to be alone." Jeremy said.

"Hey, Nate, are our wheels hit?" Lee asked.

"Nope, dumb inbred fucks can't aim for shit." Nate said while using the 44. to scoot glass off the seat of his truck.

Lee held his shoulder, the left shoulder of jacket was shot open. Only about a centimeter of flesh was taken off. He felt the left-side of his forehead, bruised but not bloody. Lee could feel the rain begin to worsen. He could see a few walkers in the woods. Lee put away his gun and sat down in the passenger's side and quickly shut the door. Lee buckled his seatbelt, in case of Nate's erratic driving.

"Don't mind the glass on the ground." Nate said jokingly before shutting his door and starting up the truck. Nate turned on his headlights, only one came on,  
"Damn... not again."

"Tell me what happened with Greg." Lee said in a tired, depressed tone.

"Like father, Like son. He tried to rob me but I managed to disarm him and it turned into a wrestling match. After awhile I managed to beat him senseless, then I took his gun off the ground and shot him. I grabbed his backpack and that was it." Nate explained.

Lee turned around to check on Jeremy, he was lying on his side, arms wrapped around his legs, eyes shut. Due to the rain it was hard to tell whether he was crying or not. Lee took off his hat and dropped it onto the floor of the truck.

"Might take a few days to get to Michigan." Nate said.

"Herds, refueling, resupplying, mapping, resting, I think it might take a little longer than you think." Lee said.

"If you say so, man." Nate replied.

Lee tilted his head forward and shut his eyes.

_Lee examined the fence from inside the motor inn. There were several arrows sticking out of it. _

_"Lee?" Clementine called _

_"What is it, sweet pea?" Lee answered._

_"Those bad people, do you think they will ever go away?" Clementine asked._

_"I don't know. Maybe Kenny is right about leaving." Lee said._

_"Maybe it'll get better, like you said it would." Clementine said._

_"We can only hope." Lee told her._

_"I hope my parents are okay." Clementine said._

_"Remember what I told you? When we first met?" Lee asked._

_"To always stay close to you, right?" She responded with a smile._

_"That's right." He confirmed, returning the smile.  
"I'm sure things will get better. One day."  
_

_"Me too." _

Day 360, Richmond, KY, 8:30 PM

Lee slowly opened his eyes to see the dark of night, the only light source was Nate's right head light and one of the lights on the roof as they illuminated some of the road in front of them.  
"Where are we?" Lee asked.

"A town some place, Pretty sure we're in Kentucky. We are making great time." Nate said.

"How is Jeremy?" Lee asked as he stretched and yawned.

"Moron is probably freezing his ass off back there. Been sleeping just as you have." Nate said with a chuckle.

"Maybe we shou-"

The truck's engine suddenly started sputtering and the truck came to a slow but sure stop in the middle of the road.

"Damn. What the hell?" Nate said as he got out of his truck and slammed the door.

Lee took off his seatbelt and opened his door and stepped out into the night.

"Everything okay?" Jeremy asked.

"We're fine just sit tight." Lee said as he made his way to the front of the truck.

The hood was raised. Nate had a mini-flashlight he was holding in his mouth for light.

"How are we doing?" Lee asked.

"I think we may have a case of complete engine failure. Damn thing is cracked, I must have forgot to change the water or something." Nate explained.

"So what do we do?" Lee asked.

The moans of several walkers in the darkness could be heard closing in on their location.

"I think we should run. What do you think?" Nate joked.

"Jeremy, grab the bag, we can't leave it." Lee ordered.

"Okay, I got it. Lets go." Jeremy said before hopping out of the truck.

The three began running down the street. Nate used his flashlight to guide the way through the night. Lee took to the right, Jeremy took to the left, Nate continued to lead the way just ahead and between them. Every couple of seconds the sound of a walker growling or moaning would bypass their hearing and quickly dissipate as they continued running down the street.

"Keep it together, people!" Nate yelled.

Lee suddenly felt himself being pulled back by a walker in the dark by his right arm then quickly feeling a pinch on his forearm. Lee kicked at the invisible enemy until he managed to shake free. When he turned back into the direction of his companions he saw the light from Nate's flashlight several yards away.

"Hey! Wait!" Lee yelled as he sprinted towards the light.

Nate suddenly stopped, having seen a candle in the window of one of the houses. Lee could see Nate run up to the door and began beating on the door with his flashlight. Dozens of walkers could be heard up and down the street.

"Open up!" Nate yelled.

Lee managed to regroup with Nate and Jeremy and just as he did the door to the house slowly swung inward. There was orange light illuminating the small home before them. Nate ran inside followed by Jeremy and Lee. The stranger quickly slammed the door shut. The house they were in had several antique paintings and furniture along the small living room along with a counter next to a stove and an old refrigerator. Past that was a small hallway towards the back of the house with two doors, presumably a bedroom and a bathroom. Candles of various kinds lit up the house. Lee turned to see who it was who had just rescued them. It was an old Caucasian woman, hair greyed with several strands of white also visible. She had on a long sleeved pink flower nightgown, she was maybe around sixty years old.

"You boys gave me quite a fright." The woman said as she turned several locks shut.

"Yeah, sorry.. about that." Lee said as he attempted to catch his breath.

"Is there anything you might need?" She asked.

"I think we're doing just fine now, thanks to you." Lee said.

The sound of walkers banging on the front door and walls of the house could be heard.

"Don't mind them. They can't get in, thanks to my husband's paranoia." She said as she made her way to her small kitchen.

Lee bent down in front of the window near the couch, the curtains were spread open and a candle was sitting on the windowsill.

"What if they break the windows?" Lee asked.

"My husband was a welder, he built bars for each window after the neighbor's son broke in and stole from us." She explained as she opened her fridge and pulled out a large can.

"That's smart. Where is your husband?" Lee asked.

"Oh old Delvin is in the vase by the TV..." She said while pulling out three glass bowls.

"I'm Lee, and this is Nate and Jeremy."

Jeremy waved, Nate simply sat down on the couch covered in a flower design.

"It's so nice to have visitors for a change. You can call me Debbie."

"So how did you make it for so long?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh I just try to stay indoors for as long as I can." Debbie said as she picked up a can-opener and began to cut the lid off the large can with it.

"What you got there, granny?" Nate asked with a smile.

"Peaches, Got about fifty boxes of them in the basement outside along with several gallons of water. My husband was always going on about the end of the world. He was a real nutter!" She said with a laugh as she used a spoon to scoop sliced pre-peaches into each of the bowls.

"So you pretty much have been able to survive just by staying indoors and only leaving to carry in food from the basement?" Lee asked.

"That's right. Lucky for me I don't need to take any pills like Delvin had to."

"So you've never had any problems before?" Jeremy asked.

"The winter was dreadful. But I managed to stay warm under my blankets. And those hateful boys with their silly little truck and their guns." She said

"Truck? Guns?" Nate asked.

"Oh yes. I have to duck and cover whenever I hear them coming down the road. They fire those big army guns while speeding and yelling, completely clearing the street of those monsters outside. I believe they're staying at the elementary school, they yelled it out one time after they finished shooting up the street." She explained as she handed a bowl to Nate, then one to Jeremy.

"Sounds like they were doing you a favor, killing those walkers." Nate inferred.

"They shot through my home and scared me half to death. I never have any problems with those monster to begin with." She said as she walked back to her counter and picked up the third bowl.

"Maybe we could get those guys to stop shooting up your neighbor hood?" Nate suggested.

"Asking them nicely might get them to stop. I'd really appreciate it." Debbie said as she handed Lee his bowl of peaches.

"We'll see what we can do tomorrow." Lee said.

"Maybe they will be nice enough to give us their truck? And maybe some other stuff." Nate said with a grin.

Debbie looked to Lee with a look as though she had just noticed something was wrong.

"Your arm! It's gone!" She exclaimed.

Nate busted out laughing, spitting his food out in the process. Lee frowned at Nate then softened his expression while he turned to Debbie,

"Yeah, had to cut it off after one of those 'monsters' bit me." Lee explained.

"That's ridiculous, honey. Why would you do that?" She asked.

"Actually it turns out the monsters can turn anyone into a monster by biting them." Lee told her.

"That's not good." She said.

"I know." Lee said.

"Well I'll just leave you boys to enjoy your sleep over. An old woman needs her rest." She said before turning and walking down the hall.  
"Goodnight, boys."

"Night, granny!" Nate called back.

She smiled sweetly and opened the door on the left and entered.

"Okay, that lady is bat-shit crazy." Nate inferred to Jeremy who was sitting beside him.

"Your one to talk..." Lee said before sitting down in the brown recliner on the opposite side of the room.

Day 361, 501 Big Hill Ave, Richmond, KY, 7:34 AM

"Well... there's that elementary school the old bat was talking about." Nate said.

"They are bound to have supplies. But are they just going to give them to us?" Lee asked.

"I don't like this." Jeremy said.

"Grow some balls." Nate said.

The three approached the elementary school. No sound could be heard, only silence. The chain-link fence that goes around the school was knocked down. Wooden barricades possibly placed by the survivors were knocked down also. Beside the entrance to the school were two trucks, parked without care. The one on their right was green

"This is odd." Lee said.

"Maybe nobody is home. We should grab one of those trucks while we still can." Nate said, stopping a few feet away from the double-doors which were wide open.

"Unnnngghh..." A walker moaned as he slowly stepped of the school. He was a large, now grey skinned walker. Wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue-jeans.

"The hell?" Lee said as he pulled his knife out from its sheath and began advancing towards him.

The walker reached its arms out to Lee and began shuffling towards him. Once the walker was close enough Lee moved to the side of him and kicked at the back of his left knee. The walker fell back with a loud thump. Lee then dealt a single stab at the walker's eye, killing it instantly. Lee pulled his knife out from its eye and began wiping it on his already quite filthy jeans.

"I think we may be in business after all." Nate inferred before pulling out his flash-light and 44. and entering the school.

"Maybe." Lee said as he followed right behind him.

The room was littered with bodies of grown men, not children. Few walkers were roaming the hall they could see past the check-inn counter. Nate began examining the dead below him for the truck keys. After a couple of minutes he jingled them above his head,

"Found em." Nate announced.

"What do you think happened here?" Lee asked.

"Over-dosing looks like. Then it all turned into a confused firefight among the drunk and high." Nate explained.

"That is really stupid." Jeremy said.

"Well lets get back to Debbie and let her know these guys won't be a problem anymore." Lee said.

The three exited the school and stared at the two trucks.

"A bowl of peaches if its the red one." Nate said.

"I'm going with the green one." Lee replied.

Nate approached the red truck and unlocked the driver's side door. He then placed the keys in the ignition and turned them. The truck started up instantly.

"Hell yeah!" Nate said as he slid in behind the wheel.

A couple minutes later they arrived back at Debbie's house. In the light of day the house could be seen. It was white and had a single step porch. The drive way up to the house had a roof to shade a car, held up by the house and thin rods built into the concrete of the driveway. Nate parked the truck in the grass beside the cover.

"Why not just park by the house?" Lee asked.

"Because I need a place to put my truck." Nate replied.

"Your truck? what are you talking about?"

"Yeah, me and that truck have kind of been everywhere together so I'm not about to let it rot on the side of the road."

"Are you going to fix it?" Jeremy asked.

"That isn't a bad idea." Nate said.

"You said, 'engine failure' last night. You're going to replace the engine?" Lee asked.

"Yeah. If you don't like that then you can walk." Nate said as they all got out of the truck.

"You're joking." Lee said.

"When do I ever joke?" Nate asked.

Lee and Jeremy looked to each other with eyebrows raised.

"How long would it take to fix your truck?" Lee asked, following Nate towards the front door.

"Awhile." Nate told him.

"Great." Lee said as they made their way into Debbie's house.

"Granny! I'm home!" Nate called as he walked to the back room and peaked inside. He slowly shut the door and turned to Jeremy and Lee with his finger over his lips to single them to be quiet.

Lee shrugged and instantly felt pain in his left shoulder. He cringed and sat down on the couch. Jeremy was instantly reminded of the event that transpired the previous day. With a saddened look, Jeremy sat down in the recliner. Lee noticed,

"How ya holding up, kid?" Lee asked.

"Why would they just attack us like that... we didn't do anything wrong..." Jeremy said while staring at the wall.

"I know, man."

Nate crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall in the hallway and looked away with a, 'you have got to be kidding me' look.

"I wish I could have told her how I felt before..." Jeremy said before a tear rolled down his face.

"I'm sure she knows. You didn't need to say it, something tells me that she knew and she felt the same way." Lee tried.

"I sure hope so." Jeremy said.

"Try to let it go." Lee told him.

"So, Jeremy. Instead of playing with this guy, how about I show you a few things about fixing up a truck? We need to push my truck over here. You can help me with that." Nate said as he walked towards Jeremy and let out his hand.

"Sure." Jeremy said before standing up and walking out with Nate.

Lee stood and walked to the counter after they left. He began examining the kitchen, there were bowls and spoons in the sink. Lee made his way to the fridge, which had no electricity, and opened it. He pulled out a can of peaches and was instantly saddened by sight of it. There was a cartoon-like girl on the can with a red shirt and overalls, rosy red cheeks, and short pig-tails. Lee clenched the can then tossed it towards the ground furiously. A loud banging sound erupted from it. Lee stood with his head bowed and eyes shut, saddened.


	16. Motionless

Day 746, Richmond, KY, Debbie's house, 11:23 AM

Lee sat in the old recliner reading a history book he found at the elementary school during one of their scavenging jobs to look for tools for Nate's truck. He closed the book and turned to Debbie who was sweeping the house. She glanced at him as she continued to work,

"Don't worry, hon. I know you want to help, but it's okay; I got it." Debbie said with a smile as she continued to sweep.

"Alright." Lee replied as he placed the book down on the right arm of the chair where he laid his leather jacket and stood up.

"Maybe Nate could use some help with working on that truck of his." Debbie suggested.

"I think he is just about finished. He'd better be; been here for over a year looking for tools and other things." Lee stated, looking through the window seeing Nate working towards the front-left end of the truck with the hood up.

"It has been wonderful having you boys around; Jeremy just loves to stay here with me and chat... but lately he's been gone for long periods of time." She said before resting her wooden broom against the wall of the kitchen.

"Well I'm going to go check on Nate." Lee said as he made his way towards the front door.

"You be careful with that truck." Debbie cautioned.

"I will." Lee said, shaking his head with a smile.

Lee stepped out onto the small porch checking his surroundings; nothing but old devastated homes and a littered street,

"No walkers, for now." He said to himself as he turned towards Nate.

The red truck was missing several components; its windows, head-lights, tail-lights, battery, and engine. The foldable jib crane was standing directly beside the red truck along with the old engine and battery from Nate's truck. Nate's truck seemed to have a complete transformation; Windows, roof-lights, head-lights, tail-lights, engine, battery, even the bullet holes were filled and sanded out. Nate took the liberty to attempt to repaint the bullet holes he filled in with a kind of spray-paint, though the white spray-paint job was clearly visible.

Lee made his way towards Nate who was tightening the positive terminal to the truck's new battery.  
"How's it going, Nate?" Lee asked.

"Finally done." Nate said.

"Good, it's high time we got a move on. Been here for too long." Lee told him.

"Whatever, I know you're not blaming me." Nate said as he shut the hood to his truck.

"You did kind of take a lot of breaks..."

"What's wrong with taking breaks? And walkers roam over all the time." Nate stated.

"Your 'breaks' lasted for weeks at a time." Lee said as he raised a brow.

"Whatever, man. Go shave that stupid beard or cut your hair, you're starting to look like a damn caveman."

"Where's Jeremy?" Lee asked.

"He's down the road or something, that way." Nate pointed towards the direction in which they were driving before the truck broke down.  
"He kept on with his paranoia so I told him to take a hike." Nate explained.

"I'm going to go make sure he's alright." Lee said as he began to make his way off the small property.

"Whatever, man." Nate said as he scratched at his brown mullet extending towards his lower neck.

Lee walked on for half a minute until he could see Jeremy sitting on the roof of an old silver Cadillac a couple of house-lengths away. A skinny, pale-skinned, male walker missing its lower half of its body was growling on the ground below him. Lee approached the Cadillac,

"Everything alright, kid?" Lee asked.

"Yeah..." Jeremy replied with his head leaning forward.

"Raaaauggh..." The walker growled as it began to turn its attention towards Lee.

Lee placed his right boot on the walker's head. The walker grabbed at Lee's ankle to no avail.

"It'll be good to get to Wellington." Lee said as he held the walker in place with minimal effort.

"You said it." Jeremy said, lifting his head with tired eyes.

Lee raised a brow,  
"You getting enough sleep?"

"I sure am.." Jeremy replied.

"Gaauuuugghhh!..." The walker complained.

Lee slowly applied pressure on his right leg, steadily crushing the left temple of the walker's skull until it ceased movement.

"If there is anything you want to talk about, let me know." Lee told him.

"I can cope on my own; don't worry." Jeremy said.

"Alright. Be careful out here and get back to Debbie's house within in an hour; we're, uh... moving on soon." Lee said before turning towards the house and making his way in that direction.

"Lee?" Jeremy called.

"Yeah?" Lee replied before stopping and turning to face Jeremy.

Jeremy smiled; though his eyes told a different story,  
"Thank you. I'm glad to have known you." Jeremy said.

"You too, pal." Lee nodded with a half smile before continuing back towards the house.

One hour and a half later...

Lee examined his leather jacket he spread out across the couch; It had torn tape and bite marks along the right arm and a large hole on the left shoulder due to the gunshot he suffered over a year ago. Lee picked up his jacket by the collar and stuck his amputated arm through the short and sewn closed left sleeve. He then slid his right arm through the right sleeve. He attempted to zip up the jacket but found that the zipper fell off.  
"Damn..." Lee said before pulling his rough glove Mitchel gave him with his teeth.

"That is quite a worn jacket you've got there." Debbie inferred.

"Had it for nearly two years now." Lee told her.

"Is it going to be a long trip?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah... I think so. Hopefully we wont have too many delays." Lee said.

"I want you to take some of my food with you." Debbie stated.

Lee shook his head, "There aren't many crates left. We've already eaten enough."

"There aren't many years left for me. The road to Michigan is a long one and you will need food." Debbie told him.

"Debbie-"

"Lee, I want my last action in this world to be a good one and I want to be with Delvin again." Debbie said with sad, tired eyes.

"Debbie, you should come with us." Lee offered.

"No I can't; I'm much too old." She said.

Lee looked down at her. Her eyes appeared more weary than the day he had met her.

"I can't take your food, but thank you for everything else. I'm sorry" Lee said.

"Very well." Debbie gave up.

"Take care of yourself, Deb." Lee said as they hugged.

"You too, hon." Debbie said.

The sound of Nate honking the truck suddenly erupted outside. Lee turned and made for the door. Debbie shut the door behind him. Lee looked towards Nate and noticed Jeremy wasn't in the truck. Lee scanned the property only to find he was nowhere in sight. Lee made for the passenger's side door and opened it.

"Come on, man. Lets get out of here." Nate demanded.

"Not yet, Jeremy isn't here."

"Just get in. He's probably at the elementary school again, we can get him on the way." Nate said.

"Alright." Lee said before climbing into the truck.

Five minutes later...

Nate stopped the truck on the side walk in front of the school. Lee got out and shut the door. Nate rolled the passenger's side window down,  
"Hurry up and get that kid. Been in retirement for too long."

"Give me a minute." Lee said as he walked towards the school.

He pulled a semi-large black flashlight from his utility belt and shined it into the school. Nate pulled all the bodies out of the school a few months ago and left everything he didn't need from their pockets along the ground; various amounts of trash littered the school floors, which included drugs. Lee made his way inside slowly,  
"... Jeremy?..." Lee called into the mostly empty building.

Lee walked towards the hall past the large desk and made his way to the first door on the left. He placed the flashlight in his mouth and slowly turned the door nob to the right. He pulled the door back and let it slowly swing open. Lee grabbed his flashlight and shined it into the room,  
"... Jeremy?!.." Lee hissed quietly.

Suddenly a walker pounced from the right, grabbing Lee's flashlight and pulling it, along with his arm, into the room. Lee let the flashlight drop to the ground and pulled desperately to free his arm.

"Raaaauuurrrggh!..." The walker in the dark growled before biting at Lee's index finger.

"AHHH! GET OFF OF ME!" Lee exclaimed before pulling his arm back then forward with all his strength causing the invisible foe to fall back with a loud thump. Lee grabbed his flashlight off the ground and shined it down at the walker. It was Jeremy. Lee's eyes widened with shock. Jeremy's mouth was releasing foam and it was dripping down his chin.  
"What the fuck happened?!" Lee yelled.

"Gaaauugh!..." Jeremy growled while slowly getting up off the floor.

Lee lifted the flashlight above his head and swung towards Jeremy several times; guessing where to hit based off of the thin second the light shined on Jeremy per every swing; successfully hitting every time. Lee stopped hitting when Jeremy got quiet. The flashlight was flickering and was bent along the front. Lee shined the light down and revealed the bludgeoned face of his former friend. His nose, right eye, cheek and right temple were covered in blood and appeared to be badly contorted. Lee sighed and rolled up Jeremy's left sleeve. Several small holes and scars were visible.  
"Fuck... Just... Why, Jeremy?" Lee said, shaking his head with a frown.

Lee collected himself and made his way outside, tossing the flashlight into the grass. He opened the right truck door and climbed in, grief-stricken.

"I'm guessing by the looks of it, the kid is dead. Was it suicide?" Nate asked as he shifted gears.

"I-I don't Know... He overdosed on heroine. I know that for a fact." Lee said.

"Damn. I'd never guess a kid that straight would have the balls for that stuff." Nate said as the car began to accelerate.

"He was probably, sad. After Isabel he just never seemed the same." Lee said while staring down at his feet.

"Lets just forget about it for now. Are you ever going to shave that beard? It's seriously bothering me." Nate asked.

"Jeremy told that he thought it gave me character." Lee said in remembrance of his friend.

"Whatever." Nate said.

"Anyway, how long do you think the drive will be?" Lee asked.

"Around ten hours, traffic free. On the other hand with herds AND groups of road blocking asshole walkers AND the unexpected chance of cars blocking he road... maybe a few days." Nate explained.

"Alright." Lee asked.

"I don't want to leave out any important details but if you want my honest opinion; we should have robbed that woman; we have no food or water." Nate told him.

Lee frowned,  
"She offered to give it to us."

"Lee, that is fucking nasty as hell. You like old ladies, man?" Nate asked.

"Grow up." Lee replied while shaking his head and turning to look out his window.

"Whatever... witness. I'm just messing with you." Nate said with a mocking smile as he continued to stare ahead at the highway.

Lee kept staring out of his window for nearly twenty minutes; he saw short trees lined up closer to the highway and open fields past them. There was the occasional pond here and there and a large white water tower up coming on the right. Walkers roamed in a large group under the water tower.

Half an hour later...

Lee had opened Nate's map of Georgia,  
"Interstate 75... Lexington is in that direction." Lee stated.

"And?" Nate replied.

"And we need to stay away from cities. After we get through the countryside take a right on cleveland road." Lee said.

"That's fucking stupid; that'll take us off of 75." Nate said.

"Once we pass the city we can just turn on Leesburg pike." Lee said.

"Whatever, man... this is going to be one shitty trip." Nate complained.

Lee stared back down at the map.

Two hours later...

Day 746, 627 Winchester Rd, Paris, KY, 4:35 PM

Lee stared blankly at the ever growing fields which once were tended by farmers. The tree-line was visible about an acre away from the road they were taking on both sides. The road on both sides appeared thinner than usual which didn't inherently matter since Nate' truck occupied the center of the road. The small wooden fences on the sides of the road were knocked down beyond repair; possibly from a herd.

"Ever been out in the sticks before? The women here are, or rather were, easy as hell." Nate stated.

"Never seems like you have much respect for women, Nate." Lee inferred.

"It's all we have to show we're men out here nowadays, Lee." Nate replied.

"Does amputating an arm count?" Lee asked.

"... Good point, that WOULD take some balls now wouldn't it?" Nate said.

Lee turned his gaze towards the road and noticed a human figure crossing several blocks away, presumably a walker. After a couple of moments another roamed its way onto the road, then another and another and another. After they were mere meters away a large grouping had blocked the road.

"Well, looks like a party, want to go?." Nate said.

"Just go around them." Lee suggested.

"No shit." Nate said before turning the wheel and making his way off-road.

The walkers began to turn their attention towards the incoming truck. There were maybe close to a hundred in sight. Nate sped towards an opening in the collective of walking corpses. He passed through no problem, actually flicking them off as he did so.

"Very mature." Lee told him.

"Your just jealous because I can do something that you can't." Nate replied while turning back onto the road.

"What? being annoying?" Lee said.

"Close... but no." Nate said, smiling all the way. Nate looked down at the gas needle, "Well, want to hear some good news?" Nate asked.

"I got much choice?" Lee asked.

"We're running on empty and we're in the middle of nowhere. So much for your 'stay away from cities'" Nate said.

"Just fucking great." Lee replied.

"That's a bad word, Mr. Witness." Nate mocked.

Lee turned to look out his window; he saw a large white house beside a black barn,  
"Well, lets check this place." Lee suggested.

"Guess there isn't much choice." Nate said before turning off on driving though the tall grass towards the large white house. He parked directly between the house and the barn, which were diagonal to each other.

The two got out and scanned the area; the gathering of walkers behind them appeared to have increased in size,

"Looks like their all heading out of the woods." Lee inferred.

"Well you keep watch, I'm going to look around for any gasoline." Nate ordered before making his way towards the barn.

Lee climbed onto the truck and began watching the herds movement.

Fifteen minutes later...

Nate approached the driver's side of the truck with a look of dissatisfaction.

"There's nothing here?" Lee asked.

"That's right, Lee." Nate scolded.

Lee noticed something in his right-side peripheral vision. He turned to get a better look, his heart instantly began racing. A storm of walkers were slowly making their way towards the farm from the north, they were trapped on both sides. Nate looked at Lee, confused, he then turned to see what it was Lee was gazing at,

"Nice going, Lee the master of directions AND master of keeping watch, really great fucking job." Nate scolded, eyes wide with anger.

"Just park your truck inside the barn and lets get inside the house and wait for them to pass us." Lee suggested.

"Hopefully this will be your first good idea today." Nate said before opening his door and climbing inside the truck.

Lee jumped out of the truck and made his way towards the house. He heard the engine come on as he made his way onto the porch. When he entered the house he noticed it was completely empty, just a bunch of open windows, although the lower half of the house appeared to have very tall, white walls . After thirty seconds Nate busted into the building and locked the door behind him.

"Those rotten assholes are almost here." Nate announced, echoing through the house due to its emptiness.

"That herd is going to blow over this place; we need to get to the attic." Lee said before he ran towards the white stair-way beside the hall in the middle of the empty house.

Nate shook is head before following Lee up the stairs, vexed by the whole situation. Lee turned towards the second flight of stairs. There were two white doors on the left side of the incoming hallway and three on the other only the right side appeared to have a red 'X' painted across it. The entrance to the attic was in the middle of the hall; between the two left doors and parallel to the middle one on the right. As Lee was about to reach the last step he tripped and fell forward into the hall. A second later Nate helped Lee to his feet just as he fell by pulling him up by his left armpit.

"Thanks." Lee said.

"Whatever, man." Nate replied as he stared up at the entrance to the attic. "How do we get it open?" Nate asked, seeing no string or handle.

Lee pulled his knife from his belt and stuck it into the side and turned it with all his strength, nothing happened,  
"Damn, I can't get it, you try." Lee said, handing the knife to Nate.

Just as he did; the sound of multiple footsteps could be heard just outside along with increasingly louder moans of various kinds. Nate began to place the knife in between the crack to do what Lee could not.

"Lee, you've got to hold off any of them that come up these stairs until I can get this thing open." Nate said, still busy trying to pry the attic open.

"I'm on it." Lee said. as he stood at the base of the stairs, hoping none would venture into the house.

After twenty frustrating seconds for Nate the sound of footsteps could be heard inside the house.

"Nate, hurry up." Lee urged.

"Shut up." Nate replied as he continued on the entrance to the attic, bending and cracking the wood of the roof in the process.

A walker slowly made its way up stairs, unaware of the living which tred on the second floor. Nate noticed his efforts weren't getting him anywhere so he pulled the knife back and stabbed as hard as he could upward pushing four inched wide by two centimeters thick of wood upward, creating a small handle but also creating a loud thump which rang out throughout the house. The walker on the stair case suddenly began growling and sped up on climbing the stairs until he could see Lee and Nate in the hallway.

"Raaaauuuuwww!..." The large, short-haired, dark-grey skinned, male, walker growled.

"Oh shit." Lee said to himself.

"Hold on, man. I think I can open it now." Nate said.

"Then just do it!" Lee urged in a semi-loud tone.

"Ruuuaannnngh!..." The walker groaned with its arms outstretched towards Lee as it made its way up the last eight-step flight of stairs.

Lee readied his stance as he watched the walker climb up the stairs. Nate gripped the hole he just made with his right hand, he then gripped his right wrist with his left hand and began to pull down with all his might,

"Urrrgh!" Nate grunted as the entrance to the attic began slowly sliding downward.

Lee stepped back and allowed the walker into the hallway by backing up a couple of feet before running forward and kicking the walker's torso with all his strength. The walker flew back and slammed the back of its head against top of the first flight of stairs, instantly killed by the impact. Suddenly other walkers in the house caught wind of the loud thump and made their way up the stairs as well. The sound of metal banging erupted after Nate finally forced the attic open.

"Okay... that fucker... is open..." Nate said while catching his breath and wiping his forehead.

"Get up there; we've got walkers behind us." Lee said and just as he did; Nate leaped up and grabbed the ledge of the attic's small entrance and forced himself up. He then extended his hand downward,

"Come on, man!" Nate yelled.

Lee grabbed his hand as best he could and Nate used two hands, along with the leverage from the upward ledge of the attic's entrance to pull him up. Once Lee flopped inside Nate quickly slammed the attic door shut just as he walkers were entering the second floor.

"Fuck..." Lee said as they both laid in the dark attic, trying to catch their breath.

"Today was a good start, don't you think?" Nate asked.

"Jeremy died, we're out of supplies, we almost died because of an attic door, and now we're going to be stuck in here for the next couple of hours, or days. No, Nate I don't think today was all that great." Lee replied.

"Whatever, man. At least we're not eating peaches with granny anymore." Nate said.

"Sure, man." Lee said as he walked towards the small, round, window located towards the side of the house, like the eye of a triangle. He looked out to see a sea of walkers engulfing everything in sight.

"Break that damned thing open, it's going to get hot as hell in here." Nate demanded.

"Alright." Lee said as he grabbed his pistol from his side and switched it to safety before beating the small window, cracking it each time until it completely shattered open. Walkers passing by could be heard growling at the sound and feeling out shattered glass.

"There we go, a nice draft to cool things down." Nate said.

"You know, this isn't the first time I've been in this situation." Lee said.

"And what did you do to solve it?" Nate asked.

"We, uh, beat the wall until it broke open. Then we stayed on the roofs of Savannah to get around." Lee explained.

"Well, there aren't any other buildings near by, so we're not going anywhere." Nate said.

"Yeah, I kind of figured." Lee replied.

Day 747, 627 Winchester Rd, Paris, KY, 10:21 AM

Nate began stomping on the attic door until it swung open downward. He then jumped down and grabbed Lee's knife off the ground and surveyed the hallway; he saw only one walker and it was beside the red 'X' door at the end of the hall. He ran up to the small male walker and shoved the knife into its face, killing it.

"Okay, Lee, It's clear!." Nate yelled.

"Great." Lee said as he jumped out of the attic.

The hall had bloody hand prints and general blood smudges all over the walls, doors, and floors. Nate suddenly kicked the red 'X' door open, breaking the door frame while doing so.

"Way to take initiative." Lee said.

"Well, this is convenient." Nate said as he stepped inside.

"What is it?" Lee asked as he made his way towards the back room. Before he could enter Nate came out with two large red gasoline cans in both hands.

"Whoa, the hell?" Lee said before he made his way into the room.

There was one other gasoline can and two black backpacks lumped together in the left corner of the room beside the window. Lee approached them, there was a note tapped to the backpack on the left of the other backpack and the right of the last gasoline can, it read:

_"Good luck on your trip and God bless!"_

Lee unzipped the backpacks to find them full of various cans of preserved foods. Lee swung one over his left shoulder and one over his right shoulder. He began making his way down the stairs, moving slowly since there were blood stains everywhere. He passed the walker he had killed, giving it no mind as he made his way down the second flight of stairs. There was blood along everything; the barn, the house, even the truck. Lee turned his gaze towards the south, part of the heard could be seen and acre a way along with a few closer stragglers. Lee walked towards the black barn, stepping over trampled walkers.

"Nate?" Lee called as he was about to toss the backpack on his right shoulder into the truck-bed until he suddenly felt the barrel of a gun poke the back of his head. He turned and his eyes widened, his jaw dropped.

"I have some questions for you." Carver said with a smile, holding a small revolver close to Lee's face.

Nate was tied up and had a gag in his mouth, he was being held back by a woman with a red pony tail and freckles. Lee turned to face Carver, he stared him straight in the eyes, adrenaline beginning to course through his body.

Lee stood motionless...


	17. Shame

**Author's Note: Today is my birthday. I'm now seventeen years old and not too fond of it... growing up sucks... Anyway sadly this chapter is a little shorter due to some complications I had while adjusting to some things. I don't want to give too much away but the time checks are about to stop soon. You will understand when the next ones come out. Enjoy and don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what I'm doing wrong! **

748, Interstate 20, Madison, GA, 3:43 AM

Every so often the van they were traveling in would bounce, making for an uncomfortable ride. Lee's wrist was tied to Nate's restraints; Nate was against the right side wall of the van while Lee was forced to sit in front of him. They waited for what felt like an eternity for the ride to end. Nate lifted his head with a look of anticipation.

"So, I'm pretty sure they want to kill us." Nate stated.

"If he was going to kill us don't you think he would of done it by now?" Lee asked with a frown.

"Dunno, but what I do know is; you fucked him up pretty good when we last saw him. So, I don't think he's going to just let that go." Nate said; eyebrows tilted inward, eyes focused.

"We've got to do something, then." Lee inferred.

"If you have any bright ideas; I'm open to suggestions." Nate said as he messed with the rope around his wrists.

"I don't see a way out of this right now, I guess we just have to hope for the best and look for an opening." Lee said.

"Just fuckin' great." Nate said.

An hour went by until they finally heard the van slow down to a stop, then the sound of the driver's and passenger's side doors opening then being quickly slammed shut was heard.

"Think we're there?" Lee asked.

"Doesn't matter, this might be our chance." Nate replied.

"What are you thinking?" Lee asked.

"I have something that guy in the camo forgot to take so-" Nate said before the vans storage door began to open.

Once the door was pulled up all the way it revealed a highway with the usual never ending supply of trees on both sides of the road. The sky was dark blue and the sun was not visible. The red ponytailed woman with freckles stood with Carver to his right and a man Lee wasn't too fond of, due to their history, Troy. A tan man with a beanie cap and a black jacket holding an AK-47 stood to the rear of the group along with a large well-built, bald, pale skinned man wearing a sleeveless white T-shirt

"Either of you need to piss? or anything?" Carver asked.

"You going to hold it for me?" Nate asked in return.

Lee shook his head in disbelief.

"Troy, help these two out of their restraints." Carver ordered.

"Alright." Troy said before pulling a switch blade out of his pockets. "Well, get over here, NOW." Troy ordered the two of them.

Nate looked at Lee with a brow raised and an amused look on his face. Lee shrugged before the both of them stood and made their way towards the ledge of the truck. Troy cut the rope between them then cut Nate's off. Lee still had the rope tied to his wrist. The two stepped down from the truck and stood awkwardly as they were being stared at by their captors.

"So, what were those questions you mentioned?" Lee asked.

"Lets take a walk. What do you say?" Carver suggested.

Lee turned to Nate with an unsure look on his face. Nate shrugged.

"Sure, lets take a walk, then." Lee said.

Lee began to follow Carver down the road, hesitantly.

"I know what you're thinking." Carver stated stopping to face Lee.

"What's that?"

"I'm not mad with you, I just need some help with something." Carver explained as they continued walking beside each other.

"So, what was the point of pointing those guns at us and tying us up if you need my help?" Lee inquired.

"I didn't think you would have trusted me and it was safest this way." Carver explained.

"So, what do you want?" Lee asked.

"Do you remember Carlos? or Luke? or what about... Rebecca?" Carver asked.

"Of course."

"Carlos and Luke they, well, took Rebecca and a couple of people away with them, we've been looking for them for some time now." Carver explained. "I was hoping since you have been in traveling north and all; you might have seen them.

"I haven't seen them and we were pretty dug in." Lee replied.

"That's what I was afraid of. They probably went the other way, dammit."

"Why did they leave?" Lee asked.

"We had... some..."

"Differences?" Lee inferred.

"You could say that." Carver said.

"So, why are you looking for them?"

"It's complicated but I don't see the harm in telling you." Carver said before stopping their walk. "Rebecca is carrying my baby."

"But wasn't she married?" Lee asked.

"Does it really even matter?" Carver replied.

Lee turned his head and frowned; remembering a similar situation he was too familiar with.

"I don't know..." Lee responded.

"Anyway, let's get back to the truck." Carver said before turning and making his way back.

Two minutes later they arrived back at the truck to see Troy and Nate raising their voices at each other while the Red haired woman watched, laughing.

"Shut up, NOW." Troy said to Nate.

"What's the matter? Your mother never taught you any manners? Or was she just too busy at the strip joint to bother?" Nate asked.

"You had best keep quiet-"

"Or what? You want to go? HA!"

"What's the matter Troy? This guy giving you some trouble? Why not teach him some manners; on your own." Carver suggested.

"I'd much rather get even with THAT guy." Troy said as he pointed to Lee.

"Why him?" Carver asked.

"This son of a bitch stole from me and tried to kill me." Troy stated.

"Really?" Carver asked with a grim expression.

"Ha. Nice one, Lee." Nate said.

Carver looked to his companions and turned to Lee. Without speaking he swung his fist and hit Lee straight in the face causing him to fall back, disoriented by the blow. Nate almost instinctively reacted tossing something on the ground causing a loud bang to ring out in the middle of the group along with a bright flash, instantly stunning everyone.

"LEE, YOU HAVE TO RUN!" Nate yelled before running off.

Lee sat up to see his five captors holding their eyes in pain. His ears were ringing, though he heard what Nate said and ran to the tree line to the left. He hopped over a log as he entered the dark forest after Nate.

"YOU WON'T SURVIVE OUT THERE BY YOURSELVES!" Carver yelled.

He wasn't wrong; he left them without food, water, transportation, or protection. But they weren't content with being someone's punching bag or prisoner.

Lee ran for several minutes through the dark woods, barely able to see the trees he was dodging, unsure if Nate was ahead of him, behind him, or completely gone. Lee began walking, breathing heavily.

"Nate?" Lee called out.

Nothing but silence and darkness, no answer. Lee continued walking through the woods for an hour, feeling more alone than ever before and even thirstier. He eventually found a shallow fast-moving river ahead. He quickly ran up towards it and bent down and began drinking handfuls. He stood and wiped his chin feeling relieved of his thirst. Lee made his way across the small river and continued to wander.

"Hello?" Lee called into the woods.

Again no response was heard.

"Fuck..."

Lee continued to walk along the river since it offered the most light at this point. Time went until he finally could see the sun rising to his right,

"Looks like I'm traveling north..." He inferred.

He walked on for several hours, the woods were now fully visible. He walked on, aimlessly, hungry, tired, and even afraid. Just as all hope began to fade he saw something red in the right corner of his eye. He stopped and turned to investigate. It was a red jeep parked right beside a tree. Lee approached it to find that it has been there for some time; it was covered in leaves along the hood and roof. Lee grabbed the black door handle and pulled on it, it opened. Lee leaned inside to find it completely empty of any supplies or people. The key was still in the ignition. He eyed the gas needle to see it was half full.

"Looks like I've finally caught a break." Lee said as he slid into the driver's seat.

He turned his torso enough to be able to reach the door with his right hand. He pulled the door shut and pulled his seat-belt on. He turned the key to the ignition and the jeep vibrated and turned on. Lee changed gears and began slowly driving through the woods.

4905 Mock Orange Rd, Hodges, South Carolina, 29653.

After an hour a road was visible past the tree line. Once he finally made his way out of the woods and onto the road he noticed a brown house across the road.

"That place is as good as any to start looking for food or supplies for the trip back up north..." Lee said to himself. "I never thought I'd ever say this but... I wish Nate were here."

Lee pulled up beside the house and was about to step out but he stopped...

"If there are any dead in there; it might be a good idea to find a weapon first." Lee opened the glove compartment, it was filled with papers, some were even crumbled.

Lee looked around him the jeep to no avail, it was completely empty.

"Just fucking great." Lee said as he opened the door to the jeep and stepped out.

The brown house before him was only one story high and had no porch, just a maybe seven room house with steps for the front door. As he made his way to the door he stopped and noticed a confederate flag beside the door, held up with a metal rod.

"That'll work." Lee said before he grabbed the rod and began to bend it back and forth until it snapped off.

Lee then proceeded to step on the flag as he held it, ripping the flag off the rod completely.

"This'll come in handy if there are any dead in there." Lee said as he placed it on his belt.

Lee turned the door nob but it wouldn't open.

"Guess we've got to do this the hard way, then." Lee said before he began to kick at the door.

After four hits it swung open. Lee pulled his rod from his belt and back smacking it against the door frame to alert any walkers inside the house.

"Raauugghh..." A walker growled inside the house.

Lee stepped off the concrete steps and waited. The walker limped its way towards the door and fell down the steps, face first.

"Grrrau-" The pale mid-sized man with short hair let out before a metal rod was plunged into the back of its head.

"Not bad." Lee said before making his way into the house.

He went through every room including the garage. Fifteen minutes later he stepped out of the house with a black suitcase he found in one of the closets. Inside the suit case were: Several cans of food, some medicine, a blanket, some kitchen knives, and some duct tape.

"Maybe this'll all work out.." Lee said to himself as he made his way back to the jeep.

He dropped the suitcase and opened the right passenger's seat towards the back and tossed it in. He then proceeded back to the driver's seat. He shut the door once more and as he was about to start the jeep he noticed some blood on his index finger glove. He used his teeth to pull the glove off. His finger had been bitten by Jeremy some time ago and still no fever.

"Am I immune to the bite?" Lee asked himself.

Lee noticed a half crumbled piece of paper on the ground, he picked it up and it read:

_"We're going to Michigan tomorrow. I never liked the cold. The camp was always cold. I feel cold. Lee was different. Lee was warm." _

"The hell?" Lee said aloud in shock.

He quickly pulled the glove compartment open to find several depictions of corpses and flowers and some of him.

"They... they... didn't make it?" Lee said to himself before leaning his head forward in shame.


	18. Nugatory

**Author's Note: I'm not satisfied with this story. I think I could have done much better. I think all of you who read my chapters every week deserve better. At some point in the near future I plan to go through every chapter and repair close to everything and I will work much harder on the next few chapters. I am very grateful for all the feedback I have received. Now please enjoy and let me know if there is anything wrong with what I've done thus far.**

Day 855, Location unknown, 9:14 AM

The journey north was a perilous and lonely one. The temperature drop slowed both the dead and the living alike. Lee walked through the cold forest, snow visible along the trail. His large dark blue coat did little to relieve the chill caused by the blasts of cold wind. He'd tied his left sleeve in a knot and cut a good portion of the hanging sleeve off. He adjusted his black beanie further away from his eyes with his forearm while still holding his dulled hatchet. His beard had grown towards his mid-neck region, since he found few opportunities to find time to shave or to cut his hair.

"Might not be too much longer... I hope..." Lee said to himself as he continued to slowly travel in an exhausted stroll; slightly hunched over, almost shuffling his feet.

Fifteen minutes later he encountered an old green station wagon crashed into a tree.

"Maybe I could take a rest here." Lee assumed as he made his way towards the car.

The front of the car was dented beyond repair; the hood was lying on the ground beside the car. The front wind-shield was cracked, but not severely. The door was wide open, possibly abandoned, regardless of whether or not the driver survived. Lee approached the car and stopped to survey the area around him. He hadn't seen a walker in almost two days. Lee shut the driver's side door and opened the left-rear passenger side door and climbed inside, dropping his hatchet onto the floor of the car.

"This is more like it." Lee stated before shutting the door.

He positioned himself to where he was lying on his back. He just stared at the roof of the car for several minutes,

"Everything is going to be alright." Lee said to himself in order to boost his morale before shutting his eyes.

Lee relaxed for several moments until he suddenly snapped his eyes back open. His heart rate increased dramatically. His breathing sped up, almost hyperventilating. Just before the screaming began.

"WHERE THE FUCK AM I?! WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYONE?! ARE THEY ALL DEAD?! HEEEEELP!" Lee let out at the top of his lungs before lunging upward, slamming his head against the roof of the car.

The blow to the head managed to stop his trance and he realized what it was he was doing.

"... Am I losing it?... I can't tell anymore..." Lee said while placing his palm on his head in disbelief.

After a couple of minutes of pulse regulating and silence he drifted off to sleep.

_Lee sat against the rear door of the train's boxcar holding Clementine's radio in his hands. _

_"Who was that guy?" Lee whispered to himself before looking out the boxcar, Savannah well in sight._

_"Well... Kenny probably would stop the train as close to the coast as possible which, at this rate won't be too long." Clementine opened the front door to the boxcar and slowly walked in while stretching._

_"Hey, sweet pea, we're very close now, how did you sleep?" Lee asked before placing the radio on the side of his pants._

_"Good." She replied before sitting down beside him and leaning against him._

_"Won't be much longer now." Lee said._

_"So, we're still going to look for my parents right?" She asked._

_"Of course, but it's probably a good idea to make sure we know what we're doing after we find them, so, I think we ought to help Kenny with his boat." Lee explained_

_Clementine considered this._

_"Lee?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"So, how come you really didn't leave Lilly before?"_

_Lee paused before answering, "Because, well it's complicated. I couldn't live with myself knowing that I left her behind. I couldn't abandon her like that, despite my feelings." _

_"But she KILLED Carly."_

_"I know." Lee said in a low, calm tone._

_"And she stole our car afterwards." _

_"Maybe I was wrong to keep her with us. I guess it's like I said before, she was sad and that can make people angry sometimes. I just couldn't abandon her no matter what, the same goes for you too, sweet pea."_

_"Not even if I did something really bad?" She asked, uncertain._

_ "No, not even then." Lee assured her with a warm smile._

_She returned the smile._

_The train began to slow to screeching stop. Lee stood once the train was at a complete stop, helping Clementine up as well._

_"I can't wait to see them again!" Clementine stated enthusiastically._

_"Alright lets get going." Lee said before hopping out of the train._

Lee awoke to the sound of beating on glass all around him. He sat up and saw two walkers beating on the left window and three beating on the window to his right. He rubbed his eyes and stretched before picking up his hatchet. The day was still lit so Lee pulled out his silver pocket watch out from his coat pocket and quickly glanced at it,

"Still got a few hours of daylight left." Lee stated aloud before lying on his right side and kicking out the left-rear window, instantly shattering it.

A male and female walker both wrestled each other for entrance to the car, only managing to trap themselves in the process.

"Auughh..." The male walker towards the right most side of the shattered window growled.

Lee quickly hacked the male walker's temple then the female's, effectively making short work of them. Both the walkers slid out of the window and onto the ground. The remaining three walkers made their way towards the shattered window, clearing the doors towards the right. Lee opened the other door and quickly ran up behind the closest walker and slammed his hatchet into the back of its skull. As it fell Lee used the walker's momentum to free his hatchet.

"Rauuuugh..." The next walker who was missing his right arm, growled while slowly turning to face him.

Lee quickly swung at the walking corpse only managing to cut the side of it's cheek. The walker's jaw began to hang off the side. Lee brought his arm up and struck again successfully killing it, also getting his axe caught in it's forehead while doing so. The last walker pounced on Lee. Lee used his forearm to hold him back as best he could.

"Urrgh... get... the hell... off!" Lee said before shoving the walker off of him and onto the back of the car.

Lee then quickly freed his weapon from the previous walker's forehead and smacked it right into the current attacker's eye socket then back out again. It's mouth quit chomping, it's arms fell limp, it's body slid off the car and onto the cold ground. Lee looked down at the corpses below him as though it was no hassle just before moving on.

Lee walked for another couple of hours, sun beginning to set. His stomach began to ache and grumble as he walked. Lee placed his arm around his abdomen as he held his hatchet.

"I need to figure out... where I am..." Lee stated.

The forest began to darken, just as it did every single day. Lee would always find someway to stay safe at night, whether it be hiding in some brush or finding abandoned homes and vehicles to rest in, he always managed, just barely.

"Maybe I should just... stop.." Lee said just before noticing something, brown ahead, between the trees in front of him.

His vision was blurred either by exhaustion or lack of food, so he couldn't see what was ahead.

"Can't hurt to go look." Lee said, continuing to walk.

Two minutes later he was standing in front of the formerly blurred object, a small log cabin. It was maybe eight feet tall, flat roofed, it had one door towards the center of the cabin and a small window beside that.

"Finally." Lee said as he made his way towards the door to the cabin, dropping his hatchet as he did so.

"Please just be unlocked..." Lee said just before turning the door knob, no such luck. "Damn.." Lee said before turning to the window and pulling up on it, no luck there either.

"Would've been too damn easy to just find a door unlocked for once." Lee said in frustration while walking around the cabin for any additional entrances.

Lee did not find any other windows or doors around this maybe 8x8 house. As he continued to observe the home he noticed a board nailed to the rear end of the house.

"Might be my way in." Lee said while approaching the board and kneeling down in front of it.

Lee eyed the log in which the board was nailed to; it was corroded. Lee grabbed the board and pulled it back, it came out without much trouble. The hole seemed wide enough for him to squeeze into. Lee pulled out a lighter from his pocket and quickly lit it. He got into a prone position and was about to crawl under the house until a pair of raccoons came running out of the hole and right past him. The pair of raccoons hissed at him.

"Damn, you two startled me." Lee diverted his attention away from the raccoons and back to the hole.

Lee crawled his way into the house and stood up.

"I can't see anything." Lee said before lighting his lighter.

It was a small home with a couch, a small wooden maybe 3x3 table, and various assorted items littering the ground, including a few raccoon droppings. Lee approached the cabin door and pulled it open. A doggy door began swinging back and forth,

"I guess those raccoons were pets." Lee inferred.

Lee noticed the table had a single, half melted, white candle resting on it. He approached it and quickly lit it. Lee then eyed the large hole he came in from,

"Don't want any stragglers getting inside." Lee said as he looked amongst the room for a solution.

"Cardboard box... table... guess I could push the couch up against it."

_"Can I help?" _A voice from Lee's past called to him.

Lee shook his head in surprise before crouching beside the couch. He turned the couch from the left end with his left shoulder and right hand.

_"Do you have kids?"_

Lee ignored the voice and continued to push the couch.

_"You don't have a family?"_

Lee began to frown as he repositioned behind the couch.

_"You didn't answer my question..."_

"It's just a hallucination... It's not real..." Lee said, beginning to feel uneasy.

_"Why don't you want to talk about your family? do they like, hate you?"_

Lee stopped what his was doing, he stood up, he trembled furiously,

"BECAUSE THEY'RE DEAD!" Lee shouted to the heavens, continuing to breathe heavily.

The voice vanished...

Lee turned with a sorrowful frown and continued to push the couch.

"Because they're dead... even... Clem..." Lee said once more just as the couch met the intended target.

Lee stood and made his way to the front door and slammed it shut.

Day 856, Location unknown, Remote cabin, 6:23 AM

Light began to shine in from the window beside the door. Lee stood up from the couch and approached the window. He crouched slightly and took a look outside; nothing but trees, not a walker to be seen. Lee turned and opened the door to provide addition light.

"Maybe there's some food or something around here somewhere." Lee said as he scanned the room.

There were a few cardboard boxes turned over or resting in the corners of the small cabin. Lee began examining each one.

"Empty..." Lee said before approaching the last box in the corner beside the couch he moved the previous day.

He bent down and parted the seal to find a single unscathed can of spam lying at the top of several glass shards from a busted mirror, some aged baseball cards, and several empty cans, which were all smashed. The can of spam had a blue label with 'spam' in white letters across it.

"Guess I don't have to go hungry today..." Lee said with a slight enthusiasm before stuffing the can into his coat pocket.

Lee proceeded to carefully relocate the glass shards out of the box. The empty cans were given a good toss across the cabin and out the door. Lee continued his process until all the cans and glass shards were removed. At the bottom of the box were three items; a six-shot revolver, a small yellow notepad, a can of baby formula, and a pair of scissors.

"I don't think I'll need most of this... but then again; I could always use a trim. Maybe if I place those shards together on the table, I might be able to use them as a mirror."

Lee grabbed the scissors and placed them on the small square table, he then carefully stacked five long piece's of glass and carried them towards the table. Lee began placing the pieces side-by-side, forming a small distorted mirror.

"Okay lets see here."

Lee grabbed the scissors and bent over the mirror he created. He looked at himself almost not recognizing himself. Lee pulled the beanie off his head and dropped it onto the ground. Lee grasped the scissors and held them close to his messy afro.

"Not really my style." Lee joked to himself before he began snipping off bits of his hair, blowing bits of hair out of the way of the mirror as he did so.

After around two minutes of cutting his hair was as short as it was the day Clementine left him.

"Better, but this beard isn't going to help me much if a walker grabs onto it."

Lee began trimming his beard as close as he could to his jaw and chin. A minute later it was much shorter, slightly longer than when he was with Clementine. Lee stared down at his reflection, satisfied. He dropped the scissors and made his way back towards the cardboard box.

"Made it this long without a gun..." Lee said while grabbing the revolver and opening the bullet compartment. "Only one bullet left..." Lee observed while placing it in the back of his pants.

Lee grabbed the baby formula.

"Maybe I could eat it? or...?" Lee said while cramming it into his vertical jacket pocket closest to his right hand.

Lee picked up the notebook.

"Wonder if this has anything written in it." Lee said before flipping it open with his thumb.

It read:

_"Screw that evil bitch, this is MY baby and I intend to raise her on my own. _

_Just me, and my trusty coons."_

"Well alright then..." Lee said before flipping it a second time.

_"Well, the girl died today. _

_She got real sick, gonna off myself tomorrow._

_ SOMEHOW. _

_Never could bring myself to pull the trigger. _

_God have mercy on my soul."_

"Jesus." Lee said while shaking his head, displeased.

Lee looked to the door, the wind beginning to pick up.

"Guess I should probably get going..." Lee said as he tossed the notepad back into the box and made his way out the door.

Two hours later...

Lee walked through the woods as he did for the past couple of weeks, aimlessly. There was a single short tree truck ahead in the middle of a small area where the trees didn't grow out to.

"That looks like a good place..." Lee assumed as he shuffled towards the log ahead.

Once Lee reached the log his looked down at it before sitting down and stretching. Lee took out the spam and placed it on the ground and held it in place with his boot. He then grabbed the seal and pulled it forward, successfully opening the can. Lee picked it up and began tearing off parts of the cold meat and quickly eating them. Eventually it was empty.

"Glad I got to eat today..."

Lee pulled out the revolver and began examining it. It had a wooden handle and you usual stainless steel body. Lee began spinning the cylinder which housed the one bullet that remained.

_"You don't just end it because it's hard. You stick it out and help the folks you care about."_

"Well... there's nobody left around that I care about..."

Lee eyed the gun and slowly began to raise the gun towards his head, hand shaking. The barrel poked his temple. Lee began to slowly pull the trigger but he stopped, having noticed someone approaching, a woman. She had her arms crossed across her torso and her head tilted forward. Lee instantly snapped out of his trance having seen her.

"Who's this?"

Lee dropped the gun and watched her approach. The woman had very short brown hair and a yellow jacket. Once she was in a close proximity she noticed Lee and scratched at the back of her head.

"Oh, um hello..." She greeted Lee, unsure.

"Hi." Lee responded.

The two eyed each other awkwardly.

"You can sit if you want to." Lee offered.

"Uh... sure."

The woman approached the log and sat beside Lee.

"So, what's your story?" Lee inquired.

"I... kept to myself through most of this..." She informed him.

"Has it been working out for you?" Lee asked.

"Well, seeing as we're in the same boat here; how has it been for you?" She replied.

"I didn't really choose to be alone, it just happened."

The woman nodded.

Lee continued: "I've failed everyone I have ever met; My parents, my brother, my wife, my friends... Now I'm by myself now."

The woman seemed saddened by Lee's answer, having turned away with a depressed frown.

"I just... abandoned these people I was with... and I feel like maybe I shouldn't have..." She told him.

"Then go back to them." Lee told her.

"I don't know..."

"We never do, we can only hope we're making the right decision." Lee told her.

The woman sat in silence.

"Thanks." She said with a smile.

"Don't mention it." Lee returned the smile.

"So to be honest I haven't been by myself the WHOLE time..." Jane stated.

"Shocker." Lee joked.

Jane shook her head with a smile, "Anyway, I was with my sister..."

Lee straightened his expression.

"And... She just wouldn't even try to go on, not even for me..." Jane said, staring down at the ground in front of her.

"Did she?-"

"Off herself? No. She just refused to travel and... well anyway, I thought if she didn't want to go on anymore I couldn't make her so I just left her after the walkers..." Jane began to look distressed.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anymore." Lee told her.

"I guess I should be getting back now." She stated while standing back up.

"Good luck, miss." Lee told her.

She shook her head and turned to Lee, "The name's Jane, by the way."

"Lee."

"So, uh, Lee, you can come back with me, if you want." Jane offered.

Lee paused and thought about it. He looked down at the revolver.

"Alright, I'm in." Lee stated before standing and following Jane.

Gunshots began to ring out some distance away.

"Shit! come on, we have to hurry!" Jane announced before beginning to sprint towards the gunshots.

Lee followed just behind her.


	19. No Going Back

**Author's Note: For a better experience go to Youtube and search up: "The Walking Dead Alive inside." I think you guys will know when to use it, ;) Also, I want to thank you guys for leaving your weekly reviews; by doing this, it helped push me to keep this story going. Now enjoy.**

Clementine looked up from the cold ground she had plunged herself down on to avoid the unintentional firefight. Her ears were ringing from the volume of the gunshots. She looked up to see Mike backing away from the Russians while holding his left arm,

"AHH! Shit, I'm hit! I'm hit!" Mike exclaimed.

Clementine turned her gaze to see Arvo attempting to revive his sister,

"Pozhaluysta, ne... ne idut... pozhaluysta, sestra... ne astavlyay menya, sestra..." Arvo cried.

"Mike! get over here!" Bonnie yelled from behind cover.

"Clem!" Luke called to her.

Clementine turned her gaze towards Kenny; he was firing at the Russian in the woods,

"Mne nuzhna pomoshch' zdes!" The larger Russian who was wounded on the ground yelled while firing a shotgun towards the rest of the group.

"Fuck you! you started this shit!" Kenny called out.

"Oni okruzhili menya!" The other man behind cover in the woods replied to his friend.

Clementine then noticed Rebecca's baby lying in the middle of all the turmoil. She began crawling towards the baby until one of the shots landed right in front of her,

"Ahh!" She quickly yelped while ducking her head down in fear.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Luke called to her. "Clem!"

Clementine suddenly ran up to the baby, grabbed him and ran to cover.

"Holy shit. I didn't even see him out there! Good work, Clem." Luke praised her.

Luke peaked out of cover before ducking back down to avoid being shot with a shotgun.

"Shit. Okay... okay, we gotta do something y'all. We're pinned down here. We can't just sit here and let this guy take potshots at us 'til he runs out of ammo." Luke stated.

"So, quit talking about it and do it!" Clementine snapped.

"Yeah... yeah, all right." Luke said.

"This don't have to get any worse than it already is! You can just go!" Kenny yelled, still using a tree for cover and occasionally returning fire.

"Eto tvoya vina ! Vy sukin syn ! YA ub'yu kazhdogo iz vas !" The man called out furiously.

"English, motherfucker!" Kenny yelled back.

"I kill every one of you!" He yelled before crouching back up and firing towards Kenny.

"If I can just get over to the other side of the wall, I could maybe get an angle on this guy." Luke explained.

"I'll... I'll try..." Clementine told him.

"Yeah? well, okay. Good... good." Luke said before looking towards the Russians, "I just need the distraction. Okay? All right, on my go."

Luke sprang up and ran towards the next cover. Clementine began firing at the man in the woods. The Russian in the woods ducked and then stood back up and quickly aimed at Luke and began firing.

"Hey! What are you-" Kenny called before being cut off by Luke's screams of agony.

Luke fell to the ground and held his leg in pain.

"Luke, No!" Bonnie yelled.

"Augh... " Luke said, trying to crawl to cover.

The wounded Russian lifted his gun and aimed at Luke about to fire. Kenny noticed and quickly, with expert precision, fired a round into the Russian's head. The man slumped back, instantly killed.

"Vy nachali eto!" The man in the woods yelled while furiously firing at Kenny.

"Luke! Are you okay?" Clementine asked.

"Well, he got me in the leg, but... I think... I think it went straight through... shit, I don't know." Luke responded while holding his leg. "Auggh!... I'm gonna be fine... I think I'm gonna be fine." Luke said.

Suddenly Kenny fired three shots at the man in the woods and ran towards Arvo and pulled him off of his sister and used him as a human shield.

"Net! Otpustit'! Otpusti menya !" Arvo yelled while frantically trying to get free to help him sister.

"You get out here, or I put a bullet in this kid's head!" Kenny threatened.

"Otpusti menya, pozhaluysta!" Arvo pleaded.

"Shut up!" Kenny ordered.

"Mne nuzhno byt' s ney !" Arvo continued to beg.

"Kenny! What are you doing?!" Clementine called to him.

"I'm ending this." Kenny responded. "You get out here! Right fuckin' now!" Kenny yelled to the man in the woods.

The man stood and aimed his Ak-47 towards Kenny, "Ty ubil Natsha , Vy basrud ! ty mertv ! Vy menya slyshite ?" He said furiously.

"Quit fighting' boy! You think I'm bluffing? Get out here!" Kenny yelled impatiently.

Natasha began rising from the dead and crawling towards Clementine.

"Ostanovite yego ! Otpusti menya ! Mne nuzhno, chtoby uvidet', yesli ona v poryadke !" Arvo pleaded, desperately.

"Stop squirming dammit!" Kenny told Arvo.

Clementine's eyes widened at the sight of Natasha, she lifted her gun and quickly shot Natasha in the head. She hit the ground with a light thud.

"Noooooo!" Arvo screeched with tears running down his face.

Arvo shook free from Kenny's hold and crawled to Natasha. Kenny lunged to the ground to avoid Vitaly shooting him.

"Natasha! Natasha! No! Please!" Arvo cried loudly before turning to Clementine and glaring at her.

"Popalsya , sukin syn ! YA zastavlyu tebya krov' v techeniye dlitel'nogo vremeni" The man from the woods yelled while making his way from cover and towards Kenny, who was on the ground.

Suddenly the man stopped his speech and let out a brief cry of pain and gurgling. He turned to face his killer. Jane stood before him. He slumped down against the large rock he had been using for cover. Jane had a look of shock on her face as she watched the man slowly die before her. Kenny approached and quickly shot the man in the head. They stared at each other for a brief moment,

"It's safe to come out." Kenny announced.

"Here.. I got him." Bonnie told Clementine before being handed the baby.

Kenny picked up the AK-47 and walked past Clementine without looking at her.

"Jesus Christ... that was uh... that was intense." Luke said.

"I thought... man, I thought that was it." Mike said.

"It was for those assholes." Kenny said.

"Thanks... for coming back." Clementine said to Jane.

Jane stared down at the man whose life she had ended only moments before.

"... Wait a minute..." Jane said before looking back to the woods.

"What is it?" Clementine asked.

"I found someone out there, I ran so fast I must of left him behind." Jane said.

Suddenly a dark skinned man with a dark blue jacket, a rough beard, and one arm stepped out of the woods, trying to catch his breath.

"Nah... I managed to keep up, barely... man..." The man said with his head down and hand on his chest.

Clementine's eye's widened and she began slowly walking towards the man, unsure if she was mistaken.

"Clem? everything alright?" Jane asked.

Lee snapped his head up when he heard the name; the two made eye contact. Lee's eyes widened and his jaw dropped,

"... Cle... Clementine...?" He uttered.

Tears began rolling down Clementine's face as she ran towards the man.

"Leeee..." She said with a slight whimper.

Lee dropped to his knees and Clementine ran into him, they embraced. Jane had a look of surprise and uncertainty on her face.

"...How in the world... are you here?" Clementine asked as she sobbed into Lee's shoulder.

A single tear rolled down Lee's left cheek. He held her tightly,

"Doesn't matter... I'm here now..." Lee told her.

"I'm sorry, Lee I'm SO sorry..." Clementine cried.

"It's okay... sweet pea...everything is going to be okay..." Lee told her.

The pair continued to hug. The rest of the group gathered around them.

"What's going on?" Mike asked as he supported Luke's stance.

"Shh! not now, Mike." Bonnie told him as she held the baby in her arms.

Kenny made his way up to the group to see what the hold up was.

"Okay what's with all the..." Kenny said just before seeing Lee with Clementine. "What in the hell...?" He uttered quietly.

Lee backed up and placed his hand on Clementine's shoulder. She smiled through her tears, Lee returned the smile. Lee stood and was met with yet another old friend.

"Kenny, is that you?" Lee asked as he approached the group.

"Lee, man, I thought... I thought you were dead." Kenny said, jaw dropped, right eye wide.

"I'm not dead yet..." Lee said as he stood before the one eyed man.

"God, Lee, after all that's happened... it's really good to see you." Kenny said, beginning to wipe his eye.

"You too, Ken." Lee said.

The two friends shook hands as they had so long ago. After the brief greeting Clementine took a hold of Lee's hand. Lee looked down to see her smiling up at him. Lee looked towards the rest of the group.

"I'm... uh, sorry for the-" Lee said.

"There's no need to apologize, that was real sweet." Bonnie told him with a smile.

The group turned and made their way to what remained of Rebecca. Clementine took a hold Lee's hand. They gathered around with saddened expressions on their face's.

"Rebecca?" Lee said with a shocked expression on his face.

"You knew her?" Bonnie asked.

"I did, I met her at Howe's. If I remember her right; she was never afraid to give me a piece of her mind, she seemed to want to do everything on her own, you couldn't stop her." Lee told them.

"That was Rebecca, alright." Luke said with a look of shame on his face.

"She just lost too much blood I guess." Mike inferred.

"Don't worry, Rebecca, we'll look out for your boy." Bonnie said.

"I ran into Carver a few months ago, mentioned he was looking for Rebecca and that..." Lee said, just now noticing the baby in Bonnie's hands. "Where's her husband?" Lee asked.

"Carver caught us a few days ago and took us back to his camp..." Clementine said.

"So... I'm guessing-" Lee said.

"I'd hate to interrupt but, what do we do about him?" Mike asked while turning to Arvo.

Arvo sat in front of his sister, possibly saying goodbye.

Kenny stepped forward, "We leave him for the walkers."

"Kenny-" Mike tried.

"I don't want to hear it, Mike. This kid almost got us all killed." Kenny stated.

"He didn't do anything wrong, he wasn't even shooting at us." Mike countered.

"He would have, if he had a gun." Kenny said before turning to Lee, "You're with me on this, aren't you, Lee? you remember what happened with Lilly, don't you? we can't trust him." Kenny said.

Arvo overheard the conversation, "I... no want to be alone, is not safe... please." Arvo pleaded while looking to Lee.

"I think, we shouldn't just abandon him like this, he won't make it on his own." Clementine stated.

"I'm with Clem on this." Lee said.

"Lee-" Kenny said, displeased.

"What harm could this poor kid do? maybe he could be useful." Lee approached Arvo, "What's your name?" Lee asked while outstretching his hand to the boy in the snow.

"I... I am Arvo." He said.

"Name's Lee, nice to meet you."

Lee helped Arvo to his feet.

"Thank you, thank you." Arvo said, appreciative.

"Lee, I don't know-" Kenny urged before being cut off by Luke.

"We're not leaving him, just let it go." Luke ordered.

Kenny glared at Luke.

"It'll be alright, Ken." Lee assured him.

Kenny shook his head before smiling, "Alright, pal." Kenny gave up.

Jane stepped forward, "Well, that solves one problem but what do we do now? where do we go from here."

"I have house, food, I can bring you there." Arvo offered.

"Well, there's our plan." Luke inferred.

"Seems like it." Bonnie agreed.

Kenny approached Arvo and looked down at him, "You try anything, and I mean ANYTHING, and you're going to regret it, understand?"

Arvo looked up at him nervously, "I uh..."

Lee placed his hand on Kenny's shoulder, "Easy, Ken."

Kenny half turned his head to Lee, feeling unsure if he was doing what's right.

"Come on, I show you." Arvo said before beginning to lead the group.

The group began following Arvo down the trail. Clementine looked amongst the group; Arvo continued to lead the group with Lee right beside him, Mike continued to help Luke walk, Kenny treaded towards the right-most side of the group, keeping to himself while watching Arvo's every breath, Bonnie held the baby while walking just behind Arvo and Lee with Mike and Luke to her left, they were conversing as they walked, Jane walked just behind the others. Clementine sped up beside Jane,

"Hey, Jane." Clementine started.

"Oh, hey, Clem. So, how do you know that guy?" Jane inquired.

"He, uh, do you remember when Sarah needed our help out of that house?"

"Oh, he was the one you were telling her about."

"Yeah." Clementine said as she looked ahead at Lee.

"I found him sitting on a log in the middle of the woods, all alone." Jane told her.

"What was he doing there?" Clementine asked.

"I... don't know but, he looked so, sad I guess. He looked worse than Kenny did after..." Jane double checked with Clementine, "Sorry."

"I'm just glad you found him, thank you Jane." Clementine thanked her with a smile.

"Don't mention it." She replied. "Are you worried about Kenny?"

"No, why?"

"I don't know, he seems broken. After he saw your friend today he might have calmed down a bit, but, later on who knows what he's capable of. And I've got the feeling that Kenny would have killed Arvo had Lee not shown up." Jane said.

"Jane, Kenny is fine. I know Lee can help him, when Kenny's son was dying he wouldn't stop the train we were using to travel to Savannah, Lee talked Kenny down. Things will be different now that Lee is here, trust me." Clementine explained.

"Well, I hope you're right." Jane said.

One hour later...

Arvo led the group through the woods, Lee still beside him. Suddenly Luke collapsed onto the ground.

"Ahh!" Luke exclaimed in pain.

"Shit, are you okay, Luke?" Mike asked as he bent down to help him back up.

"We should stop and take a rest here, maybe get a look at that leg." Bonnie suggested. "Hey, Kenny, wanna' hold him?"

"Yeah, okay, give him here." Kenny agreed before taking hold of the baby.

Mike and Bonnie helped Luke take a seat up against a tree while Kenny sat on a log a few feet away from the rest of the group. Lee made his way towards Luke, leaving Arvo to lean against a tree closer to Kenny. Jane stood with Clementine.

"I'm going to go apologize to, Arvo, for what happened before." Jane stated.

"That sounds like a good idea, I think you should." Clementine said with a smile.

Jane began walking towards Arvo. Clementine turned her attention to Luke who was accompanied by Lee and Bonnie. Mike was off talking to Kenny.

"Ahhh... shit, that stings.." Luke complained as Bonnie began slowly pouring peroxide on his leg wound.

"Oh hey, Clem." Bonnie greeted.

"Is he going to be okay?" Clementine asked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine in no time." Bonnie responded.

Clementine eyed Lee's arm, "So, it worked after all?"

Lee looked down at his arm then back to Clementine, "I can't explain it, at first it... I think I might be immune."

"Immune? you sure? one of Nick's uncles was bit and Pete cut the poor guy's arm off, seemed to be the only way he was able survive the bite." Luke explained.

"I've been bit on more than one occasion." Lee stated.

"Christa told me that, you passed out while you were looking for me. And before I... left you; you couldn't even stand." Clementine said.

"Maybe it was like cold; if someone survives, they don't have to worry about the bite next time." Lee inferred.

"I don't think that's how it works." Luke stated.

"That is just, bizarre." Bonnie said.

"It's a miracle." Clementine stated, looking up at Lee.

They smiled at each other. Kenny walked up to Clementine,

"Just like two peas in a pod." Kenny said with a smile to Clementine. "How are things over here? y'all ready to keep moving?" Kenny asked Bonnie.

"Luke-"

"Yeah, yeah, all set over here." Luke stated.

"What about you, Kenny? someone's got to clean that eye of yours and change that bandage." Bonnie said.

"I'm fine." Kenny said.

"I could change it for you, if you want." Clementine offered.

"That's alright, darlin." Kenny told her.

"Kenny, it might be infected, really, just let me help." Clementine persisted.

Lee, Bonnie, Luke, and Clementine all looked to Kenny, anxious for a response.

"Alright, give me a minute." Kenny said as he turned towards Mike.

He walked towards Mike and handed the baby off to him. Mike took the baby hesitantly and awkwardly.

"Here, Clementine." Bonnie said, handing her the bottle of peroxide along with a bandage and a medical cleaning pad.

"Thanks." Clementine said before looking towards Kenny, he was sitting on a log by himself.

"What, uh, happened to him?" Lee asked.

"He took the blame for stealing something so that I didn't have to, and then...Carver..." Clementine said with much sadness in her tone.

Lee nodded, all too familiar with what Carver's methods, "So, did he imprison you?"

"Basically, yeah." Clementine answered as they began walking towards Kenny.

"How did you manage to escape?" Lee inquired.

"Bonnie, the woman over there worked for Carver, she helped us escape and there was this herd and some speakers we used to escape." Clementine briefly explained. "Then Jane suggested that we cover ourselves in walker guts, like you and I did."

"That's smart." Lee stated.

Clementine stood before Kenny with the peroxide, a medical cleaning pad, and the bandage. Kenny eyed them, uncomfortably,

"Well, I guess we should get this over with." Kenny stated as he pulled his hat off along with his bandage.

Lee appeared shocked by the sight of Kenny's eye, his eyes widened as he stood before Kenny. Kenny's eye was swollen red; even outside the eye socket, the eye lids were shut tight.

"So, what do you think?" Kenny asked as Clementine neared him by a mere two feet. "Am I still gonna be pretty when this heals?"

Clementine poured peroxide on the pad,

"I think so." Clementine replied.

She stared at the pad, then back to Kenny,

"Are you ready?" Clementine asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied.

Clementine brought the pad up towards Kenny's eye and slowly made contact with it. Kenny jerked his head back at the feel of the sting.

"...Fuck!... Okay, okay, sorry... I'm okay." Kenny said before Clementine continued to clean his eye.

"Damn." Lee said quietly.

"You should see the other guy..." Kenny said.

Lee paused for a moment, "...What happened, Ken?" Lee asked.

"You know what happened." Kenny replied in a shameful tone.

Lee shook his head, "Well, I can't say he didn't deserve it."

"Yeah."

Clementine began tying the new bandage around his head.

"How can you trust that kid, Lee? He tried to kill, me, Clem, and everyone else." Kenny inquired as he glared at Arvo.

"He's just a boy, Ken." Lee said.

"That asshole Ben was 'just a boy' too; and we all know what he did, don't we?" Kenny asked with mild aggression.

Clementine picked Kenny's hat up off the ground and handed it to him,

"Ben was my friend; it wasn't his fault." Clementine stated.

Kenny opened his mouth, as if about to contradict her statement. Instead he sighed and placed his hat on his head,

"Thanks for the help, Clementine."

She nodded but didn't smile.

Kenny stood and began walking towards the direction they were traveling prior to their stop; he waved his hand above him to alert them that they were moving on. Arvo noticed and began leading once more.

Several hours later the sun began to fade. The group was exhausted; Luke proceeded to fall as he did many times today; the gunshot wasn't doing him any good. The group stopped and watched as Mike helped him to his feet for yet another time.

"You okay, Luke?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, thanks again." Luke replied.

"Maybe we should stop? I don't think Luke can keep going the way he has been." Bonnie said.

"And what? sleep in the dirt? in the cold? and I'm pretty sure you haven't forgot about the walkers either." Kenny snapped at her.

"Hey, guys." Jane called, several feet ahead of them. "We don't have to; there's a power station or something, over there." Jane pointed.

The group turned their gaze towards where Jane was pointing and advanced towards her.

"So is this the place? the place with those supplies?" Lee asked Arvo.

Arvo continued didn't make eye contact with him; instead he crossed his arms and glared at Kenny,

"No." He uttered coldly.

Clementine looked to Lee and then to Arvo; when she did, he was already glaring at her with a hateful look on his face; she turned away, nervously.

"This is bullshit." Kenny said as he began walking down to the power station.

The others looked to each other then began to follow Kenny.

Half an hour later, the group managed to get a fire started under the cover of the power station; almost everyone was enjoying the warmth it gave. Everyone, except Jane; Jane stared off into the woods as she stood in front of the fence, away from everyone else. Mike sat against the fence with Bonnie sitting towards his left, in the corner; to her left was Luke; towards the opposite of the fire from Luke sat, Kenny, with the baby; Lee sat to his right in the corner; Clementine sat directly in front of the fire; Arvo was seated to her left, to the right of Luke. Arvo stared down at the fire; he avoided eye contact with the rest of the group.

"Hey, Jane, come on by the fire!" Bonnie called.

"Maybe in a bit." She responded.

"I honestly didn't think she would come back; just when I thought I had her figured out, she up and surprises." Bonnie said.

"Well she saved us, so that makes her okay in my book." Luke said.

"And she brought back Lee." Clementine said, warmly smiling at Lee.

Lee smiled back to her. Things got quiet after that.

"It's my birthday today, I think." Luke stated.

"Well, happy birthday, Luke." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, man, happy birthday." Mike joined in.

"Happy birthday." Clementine followed.

"Thanks you guys." Luke said.

"You're twenty seven, then?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, exactly, how did you know?" Luke asked.

"My, friend, used to go through Carvers things and I read some of your file." Lee explained.

"You were the guy that up and tried to take a dozen walkers for Bill. Over a scouting job or something like that." Luke recalled.

"That's right." Lee said.

"What a small world." Bonnie said.

Lee looked to Bonnie, "You were there when Carver caught me and Nate."

"Yeah, I suppose I was; sorry about that." Bonnie apologized.

"It's fine." Lee said with a grin.

The group quieted down once again.

"I was thinking, Alvin junior." Kenny announced.

"For the baby?" Mike asked.

"Alvin junior, I like it." Clementine said.

"I'm sure Rebecca and Alvin would have liked that very much." Luke said.

"Yeah." Bonnie agreed with a smile.

"Then it's official, Alvin junior. What do you think, AJ?" Kenny asked AJ; AJ stared up at him blankly, "I can't tell whether that's a good thing or a bad thing." Kenny said.

Clementine smile and shook her head.

"Oh, that's right..." Bonnie said as she reached into her purple backpack.

"What?" Luke asked.

"I was saving this for a special occasion, and well this is as good a time as any." Bonnie said as she revealed a red bottle of rum to the group.

"What is it?" Clementine asked.

"It's rum, dear." Bonnie replied. "Here, Luke, how bout a toast?" Bonnie said as she handed Luke the bottle.

"I, uh..."

"Come on, birthday boy it don't have to be fancy." Bonnie persisted.

"Okay." Luke cleared his throat. "... To the loved ones we've lost along the way... and to the hope that we'll see them again some day..."

Lee looked to Clementine.

"Here, here." Mike said.

"That was real nice." Bonnie said.

Luke took a drink and passed it to Bonnie, then to Mike; Mike handed it off to Lee.

"Nah I'm fine, thanks." Lee said before offering it to Kenny.

Kenny shook his head.

"Anyone want to try to get Jane over here?" Bonnie asked.

"I can do it." Clementine offered.

"Well... I got first watch." Kenny announced, about to get up.

"Want me to take it?" Lee offered.

"Even now you've got my back, huh? nah it's alright. Thanks though." Kenny said as he stood and made his way around the transformer.

Clementine got up; about to go convince Jane to come over.

"Here, Clem. Maybe this'll get her over here." Bonnie said as she handed the bottle to Clementine.

Clementine stood and made her way up to Jane. Jane turned to face Clementine. Clementine showed her the rum,

"They expect you to lure me over there with alcohol?" Jane asked.

"We just want you to feel welcome." Clementine said as she handed the rum to Jane.

Jane began to take sips of the rum.

"Clem."

"Yeah?"

"I think your friend, Lee, is going to be a problem." Jane stated blatantly.

Clementine frowned and walked away from her.

"Clem, come on, I didn't mean..." Jane tried but Clem had already returned to the fire.

"Everything alright?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Clementine answered as she made her way around the fire towards Lee.

She sat between him and Mike and glared at Jane as she approached. Jane sat beside Arvo and handed him the rum; she looked ashamed.

"eto dolzhno pomoch'... thank you." Arvo said to Jane.

Clementine looked to Lee and smiled.

"... I'm glad I have you." Lee told her.

She scooted closer as he lifted his arm; she rested her head against him as he wrapped his arm around her.

"...Me too." She said with a smile.

**Author's Note: I don't know if I did a good job or not with the reunion. But I do know, it made my sister cry when she read it.**


	20. No Going Back II

** Author's Note: I didn't really like the reunion I wrote; I think I could have written it better. I was extremely busy with school and family happenings so I didn't have much time to revise either. I also took into account that the group had to keep moving and that there would be more time for catching up later and I don't want anyone I write about in this story saying anything they wouldn't actually say. I hope this next chapter will right the wrongs from the previous one. By the way, I just wanted to thank the reviewer, "Guest" for his constructive criticism for chapter 1 on the 25th of January, "This is bullshit" this input was invaluable towards my progression as an author and a writer. Anyway I hope you guys like this one and thanks again for reading. **

Lee watched as Arvo continued to lead the weary group through the woods. Almost two days have went by and they still hadn't arrived at the location with the promised supplies. Clementine held Lee's hand as they marched on.

"How much further?" Mike asked Arvo.

Arvo turned his head slightly to answer as he walked, "Very close." He said.

"It had better be." Kenny threatened.

Arvo ignored that.

Lee looked to Clementine, "Clementine."

"Yes?" Clementine responded with her usual smile.

"I never asked; did you ever find Omid and Christa?" Lee asked.

Clementine paused for a moment, "Yeah, we met in a corn field or something." Clementine told him.

"So, where are they now?" Lee gently asked.

"Omid got shot." Clementine stated wistfully; she took a breath and continued, " Christa and I, we got separated after some guys attacked us; I don't know if she's alive or not; we were on our way to Wellington before that happened, so she might be there." Clementine said.

"I guess we've got to hope for the best." Lee said.

The group suddenly stopped; there was a half-built house on the other side of an ice lake.

"There." Arvo pointed.

"That piece of shit? it's half built." Kenny complained.

"We're only here for the supplies, not the house." Jane stated.

"I don't think we should be worrying about the house right now; looks like this lake is our next obstacle." Lee inferred.

"I'm sure it'll be fine as long as we just spread out and go real slow." Kenny said.

"Luke, are you going to be able to cross this?" Lee asked.

"I'll be fine, now let's get across that damn lake." Luke said.

"Is okay, ice, walk." Arvo told them before turning to face the lake.

Arvo began slowly making his way onto and across the ice followed by Mike, then Bonnie, Kenny with the baby, and Luke. Clementine looked up at Lee, unsure. Lee turned and looked to her,

"I know you're brave enough." Lee reminded her.

She nodded and let go of his hand.

"I'll be right behind you." Lee told her.

"Okay, Lee."

She took her first step onto the ice then her second; each step carefully executed. Once Clementine was a good distance ahead, Lee followed. He looked ahead to see that Arvo was already half way there.

"Uvidimsya v adu, ublyudki ." Arvo said before sprinting ahead.

"Okay, what is he doing?" Mike asked, uncertain of whether or not they were in danger.

"That piece of shit I KNEW we couldn't trust him, he's fucked us!" Kenny stated furiously.

"Easy everyone." Luke said. "Everyone just stay calm. It's going to be-" Suddenly the ice under Luke's left leg cracked and his foot sunk down into it; he immediately stopped moving.

"What, was that?" Kenny asked as he slowly turned to face Luke.

Clementine stopped and looked back to Lee and motioned with her hand to stop.

"What's wrong?" Lee called.

"It's Luke, he's cracked the ice." Clementine answered.

"Shit." Lee said quietly. "Kenny, get AJ to the house, we'll meet you there."

"Alright, be careful." Kenny said before turning towards the house.

Bonnie stared back with worried eyes then continued forward.

"Clementine just go around him, I can handle this." Lee ordered.

"Yeah, Clem listen to-" Luke said before his entire leg plunged into the ice, creating a hole in the ice.

"Luke!" Clementine yelled before running towards him.

"NO! STOP! IT'S TOO THIN!" Luke yelled to her.

Clementine stopped three meters away from him. The rest of the group had already made it across and watched helplessly as Luke struggled for his life.

"Don't worry, I got you." Clementine told him as she reached out.

"No, just go around already!" Luke told her.

"Clem..." Lee uttered in a mourning tone.

Clementine turned to Lee; she had a frightened and uncertain look on her face. Lee shook his head once slowly with a sad frown on his face; he was aware of Luke's demise. Clementine faced Luke, close to tears and slowly advanced towards him.

"Clementine, NO!" Lee yelled as he followed her a few meters away.

The ice began cracking all around Clementine and Luke.

"Clem, NO! you're going to kill us both!" Luke exclaimed frantically.

She wouldn't listen to reason she simply kept on until she was just four feet away from Luke. Lee watched as Clementine was about to sink herself in order to attempt to save her friend. She outstretched her hand to him,

"Come on, Luke." Clementine said as Luke crouched over the ice, leg submerged, ice loudly cracking around them.

The ice cracked and water splashed into the air. Lee sprinted towards Clementine and grabbed her by her arm and tossed her away from the newly forming hole while he was falling forward in the same motion. Luke fell in along with Lee; both ended up completely submerged. Lee instantly felt the cold magnify through his body as he desperately attempted to force himself to back to the surface. He could not see Luke nor the hole in which he fell in from. He swam to the ice after half a minute of confusion and began beating on the ice above him to no avail. Suddenly he could see a large figure standing above him, then cracks began forming on the ice around the figure. Lee began gasping for air. The ice broke and Lee was pulled out of the water by his right arm. Lee coughed up icy water as he being dragged off the ice and onto snow. He looked up to see that Kenny was dragging him.

"MIKE!" Kenny yelled.

"I'm on it!" Mike responded before pulling Lee up by his armpits while Kenny carried his legs.

Lee could hear the sounds of weeping and hysteria around him. He shivered once again right before being carried into the house. Clementine and Jane were already hard-at-work getting a fire started. Lee could see tears strolling down Clementine's cheeks along with her quivering lips. She watched him being hauled inside with a look of sheer guilt on her face. The fire lit to life just before Kenny and Mike placed him in front of it. Lee's hand was shaking uncontrollably as he attempted to unzip his soaked jacket.

"Here I got it." Mike said as he helped Lee out of his jacket.

"Thank you." Lee said as he wrapped his only arm around his abdomen, still covered by his soaked plain white t-shirt.

"Oh God... Luke is gone!" Bonnie stressed.

"He just... that damned bullet wound... there was nothing any of us could do..." Mike said.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED OUT THERE!?" Kenny yelled in Arvo's face.

"I, uh, No, no, I no do nothing!" Arvo responded fearfully.

"You got LUKE killed and you almost got my best friend killed too! you told us it was fine to cross, then you just take off right before the ice started to go!" Kenny accused.

"Easy Kenny." Bonnie told him as she held the screaming new born in her arms; she was trying to comfort him.

"Yeah, Kenny, It's not his fault!" Mike defended Arvo.

"Like hell it isn't, just look at Lee! HE'S FREEZING TO DEATH GODAMMIT!" Kenny exclaimed as he showed teeth.

Kenny clenched his fists and advanced toward Arvo.

"Kenny, stop!" Jane yelled.

"STOP!" Mike joined in.

"No, no, no! please!" Arvo pleaded with his hands up in a fearful manner.

Kenny grabbed Arvo by the throat and slammed him against the wall before proceeding to punch him in his face; he pulled his arm back and repeated. Mike frowned and lunged on Kenny, putting him in a headlock and pulling him off of Arvo.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" Kenny hissed as he slammed his head back against Mike's nose.

Mike staggered back and held his now bleeding nose in pain.

Kenny appeared as if about to pounce on Arvo again but was met with a gun pointed towards his head.

"Back off." Jane ordered as she held Clementine's pistol against Kenny's temple.

Everyone watched silently as Kenny glared at Jane with his one eye before turning and walking out the front door. Lee turned to Clementine; beginning to feel the cold slowly subsiding,

"You okay, Clementine?" He asked in a weak jittery voice.

"I'm sorry, Lee. I shouldn't have tried to help him." Clementine cried.

"That's okay, sweet pea. You made a choice, the same as anybody." Lee told her.

"You could've died, I thought that I had _killed_ you." She said with damp eyes.

"If you had fallen in back there and died, it would've killed me." Lee said.

Clementine got down on her knees and wrapped her arms around Lee tightly; she didn't even care that he was still wet.

Several hours later Lee awoke no longer feeling the cold he had before instead he felt the warmth of the fire and of Clementine resting against him. The sun had nearly set and the darkness of night almost eminent. Lee looked up to see Arvo sitting on the bench beside the door. His face riddled with bruises and gashes.

"You... you okay, kid.?" Lee asked.

"YA khochu, chtoby ty byla zamerz." Arvo scolded.

Lee stared at him, unsure.

"You, should be dead." Arvo told him without looking at him.

"Go fuck yourself." Lee responded to him with a frown.

Kenny walked into the room without acknowledging Arvo's prescience.

"Lee."

"Thanks for, pulling me out of that lake." Lee said.

"We've got to look out for each other." Kenny told him with a smile. "You feeling alright? want to step outside and give me a hand?" Kenny asked.

"Sure, Ken, I'll be right out." Lee said as he carefully placed Clementine's head down.

Kenny walked off while Mike entered with a bandage on his nose. Lee pulled his jacket closer, causing the baby formula to roll out from one of the pockets.

"That's quite a convenient find you've got there." Mike inferred to Lee as he sat down beside Arvo.

"Thought I'd, find a way to eat it." Lee told him.

"Arvo, you okay?" Mike asked.

"Yes, thank you." Arvo responded.

"Could you keep an eye on Clementine while I step outside?" Lee asked, pulling his jacket back on.

"Sure thing, Lee." Mike assured him.

Lee made his way towards the double doors leading to the back where Kenny was waiting. Lee heard voices coming from the room to his left, he stopped and looked into the room; Bonnie and Jane were quietly conversing near large glass windows. AJ could be seen moving in a box between them. Lee approached the double doors and pushed open the one on the right; he stepped outside, instantly feeling a rush of cold winter wind rush past his face; Lee squinted and shut the door. Lee could see a yellow backhoe parked beside the unfinished building. Kenny could be seen opening the hood to a black truck with two large strips of red along the hood and sides of the truck. Lee approached Kenny,

"You think you can fix this?" Lee asked.

"I have to; we need to get AJ to Wellington, it's the safest place for him." Kenny replied.

"Alright, what can I do to help?" Lee asked.

"Well, seeing as American history won't help start this truck, I just need you to turn the key for me when I say." Kenny told him.

Lee nodded and slid into the driver's seat; he took a hold of the key, which was already in the ignition.

"Alright, go for it." Kenny said.

Lee turned the key, nothing.

"Dammit." Kenny cursed as he examined the truck.

"Can you tell what's wrong with it?" Lee asked.

"Just hasn't been run in awhile, it's not broken; I'm sure I can get it working, eventually." Kenny answered.

"Hope so." Lee said.

Kenny worked with the battery before backing back out, "Alright, turn it again."

Lee did as Kenny instructed, the truck let out a semi-loud screeching noise before failing to start once more.

"Just fuckin' great..." Kenny said, infuriated.

"Easy, Kenny." Lee told him in an attempt to calm him down.

"I haven't been 'easy' for a long time." Kenny told him.

"I'm here if you want to talk." Lee offered.

"Well... I can still hardly believe you're here to talk to in the first place; both you and Clementine. Shit." Kenny said as he continued to work on the truck. "I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you; When my son was going, and I couldn't... you took care of him, and I'll never forget that."

The two friends smiled at each other.

"I guess... there is something that's, I guess, stamped in the back of my head. It's been eating at me forever." Kenny informed him.

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"I wish I could've told Duck and Kajtaa that, well, I love em'." Kenny told him. "I just kept working and ignoring and never thinking enough about them to tell them that I loved them." Kenny said.

"Saying it is one thing, showing it is another. I saw how you were with your family; you would do anything to protect them. They knew, alright." Lee consoled.

Kenny stood silently contemplating on what Lee had just told him. "You go on inside, pal. Get some rest." Kenny told him.

"Sure, Ken. I'll see you in a bit." Lee said before stepping out of the truck and making his way back inside.

"And, Lee?" Kenny stopped him.

"Yeah?" Lee responded, stopping to face him.

Kenny stared at him for a few seconds with a serious expression, though, not hostile.

"Don't you go dying on that girl again." Kenny told him.

Lee paused about this, "I don't plan to." Lee replied before walking off.

Lee reentered the room where Clementine was resting before; she wasn't there, instead Arvo, Mike, and Bonnie were gathered around the fire. Lee turned towards the room out looking the truck Kenny was working on; Clementine was there, sitting by the window while in the company of Jane and AJ.

"Just, think about what I've said, and I'm sorry... about yesterday, I was wrong." Jane told Clementine.

"It's okay, Jane." Clementine assured her with a forgiving smile.

Jane noticed Lee approaching, "Oh, uh, I'll let you two catch up." Jane said before getting up and leaving.

Lee sat down beside AJ and smiled at Clementine; she smiled back but had a sad look in her eyes.

"Clementine, honey, what's wrong?" Lee asked in a concerned tone.

"Kenny." She told him.

"What about him?" He asked.

"Jane thinks Kenny is dangerous." Clementine told him.

"Well she's not wrong." Lee said.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"He's capable of doing harm when his emotions are high and often doesn't think things through. He also expects people to listen to everything he says." Lee told her.

Clementine considered this.

"His intentions are in the right place; he isn't a threat to you or me. I know that in the end he would do anything to protect the people he cares about." Lee explained.

"It's been feeling like I have to choose between Kenny and everyone else lately." Clementine told him.

"I know how that feels." Lee said.

The two sat quietly for several minutes, watching Kenny work outside.

"Lee."

"Yeah?"

"I really did miss you." She told him.

Lee's grinned, "Not a day went by that I didn't miss you too, that I didn't think of you. I searched for you for so long without success, I lost hope, I lost myself... but when I saw you yesterday standing there in the cold, looking at me; I found myself... I found you."

Clementine looked away from him, guilt swelling up inside of her.

"I was too young, and too stupid to do anything right... and you could've died because of me..." She told him.

"That's not true." Lee assured her in a calming tone.

"You could've died today too, and it would have been my fault." Clementine said, eyes nearly damp.

"Clementine, everything we do is dangerous. This world isn't safe anymore; we could die at anytime. You didn't do anything wrong, you tried to help your friend. I would have done the same thing."

"Okay, Lee." She said as she smiled up at him.

He returned the smile as he always did. Suddenly the truck outside roared alive.

"Well, I'll be damned..." Lee said as he and everyone else, made their way outside.

Mike and Arvo kept a short distance away from Kenny. Bonnie and Jane stood before him.

"So that's it? you fixed it?" Bonnie asked.

"Seems like it." He answered. "Next stop: Wellington." He announced.

"'Wellington?'" Jane repeated doubtfully.

"Yeah, Wellington, you got a better idea, genius?" Kenny snapped.

Mike stepped up, "We head back south and get the hell out of this cold."

"And go where?" Kenny inquired.

"Howe's seems like our best chance." Jane inferred.

"Yeah, at committing suicide." Kenny argued.

"It's just a day away and we know where it is. The herd has probably moved on by now." Jane told him.

Kenny shook his head as he paced in a short proximity, "Well, enjoy the walk; I'm heading north, to Wellington. End of story." Kenny told them firmly.

"Kenny wake up! there's nothing up there!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"We are done talking about this. What about you, Lee? Clem? you two know Wellington is out there." Kenny asked for support.

"Some of my friends I met were heading there before, while I stayed behind. I don't know if it's out there but it could very well be if so many people know about it; the only problem is, finding it." Lee added.

"Christa was going there too, but maybe we should go back and prepare for the search, then try again?" Clementine suggested.

"We can't just keep marching back and forth; I'm telling you: Wellington is real and it's out there. Where there's smoke, there's fire; that's how we'll find it." Kenny told them.

"This is such bullshit. I'm going inside." Mike said as Arvo followed him.

Bonnie shook her head and made her way back inside behind the others.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" Kenny yelled as he climbed inside the truck and slammed the door.

Jane crossed her arms and stared at Clementine, "Now do you get it?"

Clementine didn't answer her. Jane walked away, leaving Lee and Clementine alone. Lee placed his hand on Clementine's shoulder,

"Let's go talk to Kenny." Lee suggested.

She looked up at him, "...I don't think he's dangerous, I think he's just sad, and that can make people angry sometimes." Clementine told him with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Lee agreed as they made their way around the truck.

Lee opened the passenger's side door beside Kenny.

"Kenny are you okay?" Lee asked.

Kenny slowly turned his tired gaze to face him, "Yeah, just... get in."

Lee slid into the truck and pulled it shut. Clementine climbed into the back seats and after shutting the truck, she got between Lee and Kenny, placing one hand on each upper side of their seats, near their shoulders.

"So, this is the part where I get a lecture, huh?" Kenny asked.

"Nope, some advice from a pair of old friends." Lee told him.

"Alright, let's hear it." Kenny said.

"They're scared of you, Kenny." Clementine told him.

Kenny turned and stared down at the truck's steering wheel and sighed, "... I know."

"Out there, you weren't convincing them. How can you expect them to help us after the way you treated them?" Lee questioned.

"I'll do better... I-I'm trying. It's just, I work my ass off fixing up this damned truck then, they just... I know it's out there, you know it's out there; we have to get everyone up there or AJ isn't going to make it." Kenny told them.

"We'll do our best, Ken." Lee assured him.

"I know we will." Kenny replied.

The three sat quietly for several seconds until Lee broke the silence,

"So, Kenny, I probably should have asked this earlier but, how did you make it out of Savannah?" Lee asked.

"I took out Ben, I think you already knew that. Then I just tried fighting my way out. Eventually, It got pretty crammed up, the walker's kept up the pressure, It was like the way people got crammed together at a rock concert or something; I couldn't move much at all. I managed to crawl my way out until I reached the street. After I made it out, I assumed you were all long gone." Kenny explained.

"That's pretty lucky." Clementine added.

"So, how did you make it out of Savannah, Clementine?" Kenny asked.

Lee and Kenny turned and gave her their full attention.

"Well, Lee told me to, 'stay on high ground.' So I, left him... to die..." Clementine said, regret present in her voice. "Then I got to the roof and started looking around for Omid and Christa; I looked for a long time, and didn't find them. After that I just left the city without looking back." Clementine told them.

Lee and Kenny thought about that for a moment.

"What about you, Lee?" She asked.

"...I woke up, got some supplies, and drove out of Savannah." Lee briefly told them. "I thought maybe the blood loss might have cleansed out whatever was in the bite and was responsible for me passing out or the deep sleep state I was in but, I'm not so sure." Lee told them.

"Well, I guess we ought to turn in for tonight." Kenny suggested as he opened his door.

"Yeah. Come on Clementine." Lee said as he opened his door and stepped out of the truck.

Clementine followed them inside.

A couple minutes later, Lee sat beside AJ; he stared down at the child while it slept. Clementine approached and stood in front of Lee,

"He's cute, right?" She asked with a smile.

Lee looked at the small person resting beside him once more, "Yeah." Lee agreed.

Clementine climbed in beside them and rested against Lee once more, only this time leaning against something inside his lower coat pocket. She sat up and rubbed her side uncomfortably.

"Uh, sorry bout that." Lee apologized as he fished his hand into his pocket and pulled out his old snub nosed revolver in a small sandwich bag also sealed with WD40, thanks to Nate. "I haven't thought about this old thing in a long time." Lee told her as he stared at the gun.

"What the gun?" She asked him.

"I found this the day I woke up." Lee told her.

"Oh." Clementine commented, oblivious to any significance concerning the revolver.

Lee looked down at it and was all of a sudden, reminded of the last person he gave the gun to. "I... met someone out there, a girl, a little older than you; she wasn't doing so good so, I decided to take her in, as my own for awhile."

"Like me?" She asked.

"Come on, Clem. I could never replace you." Lee jokingly assured her. "Anyway, we managed to find her dad and he told us about Wellington; they all left, while I stayed behind to look for you." Lee told her.

"So, do you think they made it?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know, Clem. I really hope so, I mean I found one of the cars they used to head up to Wellington back in Georgia awhile after they left, so they could be gone for all I know... I-I turned my back on them... for selfish reasons..."

"They could be okay, you never know." Clementine told him enthusiastically.

Lee softened his expression, "You're probably right."

Clementine leaned against him once more and they drifted off to sleep.

Some time later Lee awoke to hear indistinct talk outside. Clementine was not beside him anymore. Lee stood and made his way towards the backdoors to see why people were awake and outside; still half asleep, he pushed open the doors and peered outside.

**Author's Note: No sarcasm this time; I wanted to just let everyone who took the time to read this story know that I truly appreciate it. Especially, BLACK-OP1, you've pretty much been here since the beginning, thanks for that. There's more to come and I hope you guys will remain interested in what I produce in the future. **


	21. No Going Back III

**Author's Note: Sorry, site was down for awhile. I only finished typing Sunday morning. I hope you guys enjoy. P.S. This is bullshit.**

Lee could see Mike approaching an armed Clementine with his hand outstretched in an attempt to retrieve the gun she was using to hold him at bay. Arvo was near the truck Kenny got working, holding a rifle aimed at Clementine. Bonnie stood towards Mike's right a few yards away, holding one of the bags of supplies. Lee felt enraged by the sight. He quickly pulled his revolver from his pocket and aimed it towards Mike and he quickly advanced towards him.

"Get the hell away from her!" Lee yelled.

Mike quickly began stepping back away from Clementine, "Easy now, it's not what you think..."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lee questioned as he took position between Mike and Clementine.

Clementine stepped aside and aimed her gun at Arvo.

"Please just calm down, Lee." Bonnie pleaded quietly.

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" Lee snarled.

Seconds of silence went by with no apparent answer, only looks of fear and uncertainty.

"They're robbing us; Mike said 'he just needs to get away from Kenny.'" Clementine informed him.

Lee kept his aim on Mike. The two stared at each other silently, Mike broke the silence,

"Alright, look: we just want to leave peacefully, that's all." Mike stated.

"You gonna steal our truck? our supplies? you were aiming that rifle at her because you're 'peacefully' leaving?" Lee questioned heavily.

"It's not like that, okay? those supplies _belong_ to Arvo." Mike defended.

"Drop the rifle, drop the bags, and start walking away." Lee told him.

Mike shook his head, "I-"

"Let's just do as he says, Mike it's not _worth_ it." Bonnie told him as she dropped the green bag.

"Chto ty delayesh'?" Arvo asked.

"Alright..." Mike agreed to Lee's terms.

Mike and Bonnie began backing away from the unfinished house. Arvo stood firm, aiming the gun at Clementine.

"No. You will not rob me again." Arvo told her.

Clementine looked to Lee as she kept her weapon on Arvo, "I never-"

Suddenly a shot was fired; Clementine began tilting back. Lee watched, as if in slow motion, as Clementine, the girl he had searched countless months for, falling. Lee felt his breathing accelerate; he felt a pain in his chest like no other. Lee began to offload all six shots in his revolver at Arvo furiously; one hit Arvo's supported leg as he attempted to flee, causing him to fall. Mike quickly grabbed Arvo off the snowy ground and began running into the woods behind Bonnie. Lee fell to his knees beside Clementine and quickly placed his palm against the bullet wound near her lower left shoulder and began applying pressure.

"CLEMENTINE!" Lee exclaimed in terror and sorrow.

Clementine's breathing rate increased drastically causing her chest to spasm as she bled out on the cold ground, her face wide with shock and pain. Jane and Kenny rushed outside with their weapons drawn.

"What the fuck happened?!" Kenny asked frantically.

Lee gritted teeth as tears strolled down his face as he watched Clementine drift into unconsciousness.

"JUST HELP HER GODAMMIT!" Lee ordered furiously.

"Hold on, I need to get something!" Jane announced before quickly running back inside.

"Hey! get back here and help!" Kenny yelled to her.

"Kenny!" Lee called.

Kenny was appeared tempted to run into the woods after the others. Instead he and kneeled down beside Clementine and did as Lee told him, "Fuck, this don't look good!" Kenny inferred; he turned gaze towards the double doors, "Jane!"

"She is gonna be alright. She is gonna be alright..." Lee said to himself as a tear dripped down onto his blood-soaked hand.

A second later, Jane returned with a fire poker in her right hand; it was still glowing light orange from the fire they started inside.

"Okay, move your hand, Lee." She told him before crouching beside him.

Lee quickly moved to the side as Jane kneeled and pressed the extremely hot poker against her open wound for two seconds then pausing for a moment then repeating. Smoke formed slightly as Jane cauterized the hole in Clementine's shoulder. Lee watched, beginning to feel increasingly uneasy. Kenny looked away as Jane burned Clementine to stop the bleeding.

"Okay, turn her on her side!" Jane told Kenny, looking up at him with a focused look on her face.

Kenny nodded and did as she said, gripping Clementine's arm then pulling her onto her side, "Come on, hurry." Kenny urged.

Jane didn't respond to that, instead she simply began burning the exit wound which was bleeding much more than the entrance one. After a couple of seconds of the same burning process, Jane tossed the burner. The tone was changed after the bleeding stopped. Lee looked down at Clementine after Kenny rested her back down, relieved.

"Wait, what about the bullet?" Lee asked.

"I think it went straight through, check the wall for a bullet hole." Jane answered.

"So, that's it? She's going to be okay now?" Kenny asked.

"It's all we can do right now. Just be careful with her and she'll be fine." Jane told Kenny.

Jane approached the two bags Mike and the others attempted to steal and picked them up off the ground.

"Jane." Lee called.

"Yeah?" She responded.

"Thank you for saving her." He told her with a warm smile on his face.

She paused for a moment then half glanced at him, "Couldn't just leave her without even trying. She would do the same for any of us." She replied before continuing towards the truck.

"I think it's high time we get the fuck out of here." Kenny stated while carefully scooping up Clementine. "Go get AJ." Kenny told Lee.

Kenny carried Clementine towards the truck. Lee made his way inside the house to retrieve AJ. Once Lee was inside the hall he turned towards the room he was resting in before. He approached the screaming child and bent down in front of him. Lee wiped his hand off on his jacket, smearing Clementine's blood over it. He then scooped the child up into his arm and rested it on his shoulder as best he could. Lee turned and made his way back outside. Lee quickly strolled down the steps and began walking towards the truck. Lee could see that the headlights were shining through the dark, indicating that Kenny had started up the truck. Jane walked up to Lee from the left with a purpose in mind,

"Here, I'll hold him during the ride." She offered.

"Thanks." Lee said as he handed the child off to her.

The two advanced towards the truck, Lee getting in beside Clementine, Jane taking the front passenger's seat. All was quiet now.

Many hours later, Clementine was still resting on her side. Lee watched Clementine as she rested peacefully beside him. The surroundings were mostly visible though, snow covered almost everything that could be seen including, cars, trees, and the road. They drove on for several minutes, never uttering a single word. Eventually Jane broke the silence,

"I guess we're heading to 'Wellington'." She mocked.

"You don't have to come with us." Kenny told her in response.

"Sure I don't." She replied, reviving the silence they experienced thus far.

Lee looked out his left-rear passenger's side window, "Seems like we're having some trouble finding things to talk about." Lee inferred humorously.

"You could say that." Kenny commented.

"I had a friend once, Nate; this guy never took anything seriously, he mocked everyone he came in contact with." Lee told them.

Jane turned her head to the left, as if listening.

"This guy always had something to talk about, so long as you spoke to him." Lee finished telling them.

Jane nodded and resumed staring straight ahead. Clementine sat up and began stretching her shoulder.

"Hey, sweet pea." Lee greeted with a smile.

"What happened?" Clementine asked.

"That sonuvabitch Russian shit shot you." Kenny informed her.

"Am I going to be okay?" Clementine asked.

"It'll sting for awhile, but you should be okay." Jane told her.

"They didn't get _anything _from us thanks to you, darlin." Kenny added.

"I've been waiting until Clementine woke up for us to discuss our next move." Jane stated.

"Well as of right now, we're on our way to Wellington." Kenny said.

"Look all I want is to talk about it." Jane told him.

"Go on, I'm listening but don't think it's going to help you persuade anyone in this truck that we should just turn our asses around." Kenny told her.

"You see that? that's the attitude that almost got Clem killed yesterday." Jane spited.

"Watch your words VERY carefully, Jane." Kenny threatened.

"Fuck you. You're the one whose been getting everyone killed, according to what I've heard." Jane said.

"Is that right?" Kenny doubted.

"Walter, Alvin, Rebecca... Duck?" Jane tested him.

"Whoa, easy now." Lee told them.

"Don't you DARE fuckin' talk about my son you little shit." Kenny responded hostility present in his voice.

"Or what? you're going to kill me too? I don't think so." Jane said.

"Don't test me." Kenny told her.

"Go to hell." She replied.

"Look lets just stop this before this gets out of hand, alright?" Lee suggested.

"It's _him. _How can you not see that?" Jane asked.

"How about since you want to go south so bad we abandon you? like you've done to everyone you have ever known." Kenny said.

"Bullshit." Jane replied.

"Rebecca told me how you suggested we all just abandon the baby, can't have any burdens right?" Kenny persisted, "Sounds an awful lot like Crawford eh, Lee?" Kenny asked for reassurance.

"That's not what I told her." Jane said.

"Of course its not." Kenny agreed sarcastically.

"What the hell are we accomplishing with this bullshit? Kenny just listen to her." Lee told them.

There was silence for a couple of seconds.

"Now I'm convinced." Kenny said sarcastically before he looked down at the gas needle, "Well, shit."

"What now?" Jane asked.

"We're outta gas, gonna have to stop up here." Kenny told her as he began decelerating towards a large compilation of cars ahead.

The truck stopped; Kenny gripped his door handle, "I'll scrounge together what I can, meet me by the sign if anything goes wrong."

"Me and Kenny will handle this; you girls stay here." Lee said as he opened his door.

Clementine grabbed Lee's hand before he could step out. Lee turned to face her; in her right hand she had her pistol in hand, offering it to him. Lee shook his head with a smirk,

"I'll be fine." Lee assured her.

She let go of his hand, "Be careful." She told him.

Lee nodded and shut the truck door then turned to Kenny.

"Let's get this done." Kenny told him before turning and walking towards the gathering of cars.

"You alright, Kenny?" Lee asked as he followed him.

"Yeah... I'm alright." Kenny answered in a low, depressed tone.

They continued to make their way towards the vehicles as the cold wind blew past their faces, whistling; as snow fell all around them.

"What she said in there... it wasn't you're fault." Lee told him, making his way beside him.

"Fuck her. Let's just get this done." Kenny said.

"Alright."

Lee began scanning the cars for fuel cans of any sort. After half a minute of searching Kenny called out,

"Found something!"

Lee looked to Kenny through the ever falling snow to see him holding a large red gas can.

"Good find!" Lee praised.

Lee walked towards Kenny but stopped, feeling his leg being tugged on. He turned, already aware of what had taken a hold of him.

"... Raaaauuuughhh..." A bald grey walker missing it's lower half of it's body growled.

Lee turned and quickly kicked his attacker off of his leg before repeatedly stomping it's head in. Kenny watched Lee, pistol in hand.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Lee told him, raising his hand.

Kenny put away his gun, "Not bad." He commented.

Suddenly a pair of walkers began advancing behind Kenny.

"Look out!" Lee yelled.

Kenny spun around, pulling out his gun yet again. He fired, missing on his first shot then firing again this time, piercing the female walker on the left through her eye; the walker fell against a red car beside Kenny. He then shot one last round hitting the larger male walker through the forehead, the walker fell back onto the snow covered ground. Before anything could be said, several walkers began approaching from multiple directions.

"Shit! come on, Lee!" Kenny yelled as he ran towards the sign he pointed out previously.

Lee began sprinting behind Kenny but stopped and looked towards the direction in which they came from. The snow storm had picked up to the point where visibility was greatly limited; nothing but harsh and quite loud whether to be sensed.

"Clementine." He whispered before running back down the road.

"Lee!" Kenny called, his voice hard to make out, either due to distance or the vicious wind.

"CLEMENTINE!" Lee called out.

Lee continued running. After half a minute he realized that the truck wasn't where they left it. Lee came to his own chilling conclusion,

"Jane took her..." He uttered as he clenched his fist, "I need to get to Kenny..." Lee stated aloud before turning around and sprinting back in the direction where he last saw Kenny.

"KENNY!" He yelled just as he reached the large road block from earlier.

He began zipping between cars. A walker lunged out in front of Lee. Lee simply kicked the walking corpse in the torso causing it to fall before dealing one powerful stomp to the forehead, it didn't get back up. He glanced down at the walker he just dealt with. The walker was somewhat dark skinned though, also discolored. He was wearing a red ski jacket with some black jeans and shoes.

"You seem familiar..." Lee inferred as he kneeled down and examined the walker's face.

The left side of his forehead was crushed but the face was very much intact though, somewhat aged. The walker had a semi-long black beard and afro. Lee couldn't quite place why this person appeared so familiar to him.

"I don't have time for this." Lee stated before quickly fishing through the walker's pockets.

Lee felt a folded piece of paper in his left jean pocket.

"What's this?" Lee asked himself as he pulled the paper out and unfolded it, "Oh my god..." Lee said as he stared at a photograph of September with her parents.

Lee stared past the photo at the body before him,

"... Jan."

Lee looked around him, the cars and other vehicles were mostly from his former community. Lee folded the picture up and slipped it into his pocket,

"I'm sorry I left you all..." Lee said wistfully before hearing more gunshots off in the distance.

He ran for what seemed like a full minute until he could see the truck AJ, Clementine, and Jane were in before was crashed off on the left side of the road. Lee ran towards it, his heart pumping rapidly, adrenaline kicking in, worry never ceasing.

"Clem?" Lee called just as he reached the truck.

The front passenger's seat was wide open and a dead walker was smashed through the truck window and another under the truck. Lee could see foot prints in the snow beside the truck. He began running along side the tracks. Eventually the snow storm hid the foot prints, the track went cold. He made his way randomly through the snow hoping to find the others. Walkers were visible through the snow.

"KENNY...! JANE...!" Lee began calling out, nothing of interest in sight. "CLEMENTINE!" Lee bellowed before slumping down onto his knees in despair.

He felt something buried in the snow under his right knee; he moved his leg and dug his hand into the snow and pulled out a rusty meat cleaver knife. Lee slowly got to his feet once more, not content to give up yet.

"Just hold on, Clementine; I'm coming for you." Lee said as he quickly paced through the snow.

Three walkers were grouped together ahead. Lee raised the rusty chopping knife, ready to slice through the walkers ahead. Once he was in a close proximity he threw his arm forward, penetrating the closest walker's skull then quickly exiting only to be slammed into the walker beside that one. Lee pulled his weapon out of the last walker's temple and advanced towards the final walker. He quickly chopped at the back of the walker's head, it's head split apart but the knife handle broke off.

"That seemed, too easy." Lee inferred.

Lee noticed that he was standing in a street. He began making his way down the road but began hearing faint crying that lasted for a couple of seconds then stopped. Lee surveyed his surroundings, he could see a red snow covered car and past that a playground of some sort. Lee walked towards the car where he believed he heard the crying from. Once he reached the car he looked inside to see AJ alone in the back seats.

"What the fuck?" Lee said before opening the car and scooping AJ up and leaning him against his shoulder for proper carrying support.

"Who left you in there?" Lee asked as he made his way towards the play ground.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Kenny threatened.

"GODAMMIT!" Jane yelled.

Lee began jogging towards the sound of confrontation. Once he reached the source he saw Kenny on top of Jane with a knife pointed at her chest. Clementine was on the ground watching the whole ordeal. Lee quickly placed AJ down next to Clementine and sprinted up to Kenny and Jane quickly dealing a powerful kick to Kenny's torso, knocking him off of Jane.

"Lee?" Jane said, still winded from her fight with Kenny.

"Just what the hell is going on here? why was AJ left in a car and why was Kenny trying to kill you?" Lee immediately questioned.

Kenny held his stomach in pain as he slowly sat up, "AJ? he's alive?" Kenny asked, face lit up in surprise.

Clementine took AJ into her arms and cradled him before getting back to her feet. Lee outstretched his hand to Jane, helping her up.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Lee asked her.

She momentarily paused, looking to Kenny, then to AJ before speaking, "I wanted to... show Clementine that she isn't safe with Kenny; it was a stupid idea."

"So _I'm _the 'dangerous' one? you endangered all of our lives in order to prove a point?" Kenny argued.

"It worked, didn't it? you did exactly what I thought you would do." Jane told him, crossing her arms.

"Because I thought you had KILLED Alvin junior!" Kenny argued back.

Lee placed his hand on his forehead in disbelief, "Jane, that was a really bad call." Lee told her.

"I know." She admitted.

"Look: we're heading to Wellington; I'm not choosing sides here, I just need to know if my friends are there. You can make your way back south to Howe's hardware; I'll come back for you if we find Wellington or you could suck it up and come along with us anyway." Lee told her.

Jane looked to Clementine then back to Lee, "Alright."

Lee stared at Kenny as he began placing his hat back on, his bandage already on again.

"Kenny."

"What?" He answered.

"You know what." Lee told him.

"Look: I was just protecting Clementine." Kenny argued.

"You were trying to kill someone." Lee stated.

Kenny didn't respond, he crossed his arms and turned his head away.

"How long until it goes from her," Lee pointed to Jane. "to her?" Lee placed his hand on Clementine's right shoulder.

Kenny didn't budge.

"LOOK at me dammit." Lee ordered.

Kenny slowly turned, head tilted foreword.

"...You're right." Kenny said before looking to Lee; shame evident on his face.

"Something's just, broken inside of me... and there's no fixing it... I let everyone down." Kenny said as a tear made it's way down his cheek.

Lee sighed, "Let's just get going."

The group began making their way down the road and away from the rest stop. Kenny led the group a few meters ahead. Jane followed from a few meters behind. Lee, Clem and AJ were in between the two. No one spoke for almost half an hour. Lee kept staring ahead at Kenny; no change in the many minutes they were walking. Lee then turned to check on Jane, no different than Kenny.

Clementine was the first to speak, "I'm glad you showed up when you did."

"Me too, sweet pea." Lee replied.

"Do you think they're going to work together from now on?" Clementine asked, certain that neither Jane or Kenny could hear them.

"I don't know, Clementine; for right now, it seems that they don't have to even look at each other. If anything happens, we'll deal with it then." Lee told her.

"I hope so." Clementine said.

The continued on.

Nine days later...

The group had been traveling towards a rising smoke trail they saw several minutes prior. Kenny led the group up a hill which was covered in snow. Jane always kept her distance behind the others. No-one spoke until they reached the top of the hill.


	22. No Going Back IV

A large wall stretching from far beyond sight and several meters tall; made from what appeared to be metal panels stood before them. There was even a large, well-built entrance of a sort ahead.

"No way." Jane uttered in awe.

"Finally." Lee said aloud.

"What are we waiting for?" Kenny asked in excitement before making his way down the side of the snow-covered hill.

The others followed him, hope high in their hearts.

"I hope Christa made it." Clementine said.

Suddenly a gunshot went off, startling the group and causing them to stop and stand on guard.

_"Drop your weapons." _A female voice boomed through an intercom.

Kenny turned to the others,

"Do as she says, y'all." Kenny told them.

Jane looked to the others and shrugged before pulling her knife out from her leg quiver and bending down as she stabbed it down into the snow. Clementine turned to Jane,

"Could you, hold him for a sec?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, sure." Jane said before taking a hold of AJ.

Clementine pulled her pistol out from the back of her pants and tossed it onto the ground.

_"Approach the gate." _The voice boomed out once more.

Kenny began approaching the supposed gate which appeared to have been constructed with a large shipping container.

"I guess this is it." Lee said as he and the others followed Kenny.

Once the group was around two meters away from the gate a woman stood over a balcony above the double doors marked with, in faded letters, "Wellington." She was Caucasian with brown hair wearing earmuffs.

"Hello, I am Edith." The woman greeted them.

"Name's Lee."

"I'm Kenny, and this is Jane holding AJ and the one in the blue jacket is, Clementine."

"Good to meet you all." She said.

"Is there anyone by the name of, September or maybe Christa here?" Lee asked.

"I don't think so, sir." Edith replied.

Lee sighed heavily.

"How come we had to leave our stuff behind?" Clementine asked.

"Well, this is the part where I give you the bad news." Edith told them.

"Shit." Jane said, beginning to shake her head in frustration.

Edith pulled a green duffle bag over the balcony she was standing by and tossed it down to the group.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked.

"That's food, water, a first-aid kit-"

"Why are you giving us this?" Kenny questioned.

Edith sighed before beginning to explain, "...Unfortunately our community isn't accepting new members; we're over capacity as it is and there's just... not enough to go around if we keep bringing people in; things might change in a few-"

"You've gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me." Kenny told her.

"I'm... sorry." Edith told them.

"But we have a baby." Clementine added.

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Lee asked.

"I knew we should've headed back south." Jane stated.

"This, this is hard for me too; I don't want to turn anyone away especially children, but-" Edith said before being cut off.

"Just take the kids! please!" Kenny pleaded.

"Huh?" Jane said in alarm.

"What?" Clementine seconded.

"Just, take the kids; it's too dangerous for them out here, please!" Kenny continued to plead.

"Hold up, Kenny." Jane told him.

"It's just a little girl and a baby boy, you can make room for that. You can take back the supplies you gave us, if that helps. Please! I need them to be safe. And it's safe in there, I know that. Just, ask someone, please. They won't make it out here! please!" Kenny pleaded one last time.

Edith shut her eyes and shook her head,

"I'll, I'll ask, uh, just gimme a second..." Edith walked off out of sight.

Jane protested, "Kenny, you can't just make a decision like that. What if-"

"Look around you Jane! this is as safe as it gets..." Kenny stated.

Edith returned a second later,

"We can take the children, but, just the children; I made the case that-"

"Thank you! thank you!" Kenny let out in gratitude before turning to Clementine, "Listen it's safe here, that's what's important now." Kenny told her.

"He's right." Jane added, "Nothing is getting through these walls."

"But-" Clementine tried.

"Look at that boy; he needs you and his and your best chance is in there." Kenny told her as he looked her in the eyes.

Tears began rolling down Clementine's face,

"No, no, no! how could you all do this!" Clementine said as she shook her head, pain evident in her voice.

"It's the only way, for both of you." Kenny said, his eye beginning to turn damp.

"Clem, just stay here. It's going to be a lot harder out here, trust me, I know about this sort of thing; dragging someone around from place to place... we'll make it on own, okay? so just stay." Jane told her before rubbing her eyes as they began slowly letting out tears.

Clementine completely shut down, closing her eyes while quietly sobbing, unable to make a decision.

"Clementine..." Lee called from behind.

Clementine suddenly snapped back and turned to face Lee who was kneeling, smiling.

"Stay here." He told her calmly.

Clementine stood closer to Lee, "I-I can't..." She cried.

"...You're strong, Clem. You can do _anything..._" Lee told her.

"We can all just go back south; we can all be together." Clementine tried.

"I'm sorry, Clementine; there's no going back."

"What about what you said about always staying close to you?" Clementine persisted.

"It's like back in Savannah, honey; when we left for Crawford, I needed to make sure you were somewhere safe. Besides, Alvin needs you."

"We can all do this, together!"

"If you come with us, it'll just make things harder on AJ; that's all we're trying to tell you. But if you stay, you won't have to... see bad stuff anymore... you won't have to keep your hair short... or have to keep moving... or avoid cities... or have to distrust people... or find a group only to watch them die for... nothing... But most importantly, you won't have to hurt anyone. This is the place we used to talk about; the safe place where no monsters can get you." Lee said as his eyes became damp.

Clementine suddenly latched onto Lee, hugging him tightly. Lee returned the embrace as tears managed to escape his eyes.

"Leee..." She cried.

"It's alright. It's alright..." Lee told her with his eyes shut. "It's better this way, you'll see." Lee said.

There was a short pause as the two continued their embrace.

"I'll miss you..." Clementine whispered.

Lee felt a pain in his chest. As if a hole had formed inside him, "I'll miss you too, sweet pea." Lee said before pulling back to face her as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Now, you know what you have to do."

Clementine nodded and turned to Jane.

"I'd hope this doesn't come off as cheesy or anything but... I never really cared about anyone for a long time and I think you had something to do with that, thank you, Clem." Jane told her as she handed AJ off to her.

"Sure thing, 'partner'." Clem replied with a grin.

Jane smiled at that. Clementine then turned to face Kenny.

"Oh and uh, give him this," Kenny removed his orange hat and handed it to Clementine. "for when the sun gets in his eyes; that's important." Kenny. "And don't forget to tell him all about his mommy and daddy and all the people who tried to keep him safe."

"I will." Clementine nodded.

Suddenly the two metal doors to Wellington began slowly swinging open. Edith stood at the entrance. Clementine took a deep breath before approaching the gate. Kenny began walking in the opposite direction. Jane waited a little longer before shutting her eyes and forcing herself to follow Kenny's lead. Lee remained in kneeling position as he watched Clementine enter the gate. Once Clementine and AJ were inside, the doors began slowly closing. Clementine turned to face Lee for once last time. He waved to her before the gates shut with a loud thud.

**Author's Note: Thanks you guys for reading this story. I plan to revise the whole thing while staying true to the original plot. But I've got a question: Want me to write about what happened to everyone else? Like maybe September? or Nate? or whoever? or maybe where Lee and the others went after this point? **


	23. Out with the old, in with the old

**Day 896, Georgia, Athens-Clark county, 11:59 AM, 17 days since Wellington...**

**-Lee**

The littered highway which led south through Athens city seemed to stretch on forever, as do most highways when traveling on foot. Trees were the only local attractions in sight. Though it was still somewhat cold, very little snow had formed. Kenny kept a map of Georgia clutched in his left hand at all times and the green duffle bag in his right as he walked down the depressingly quiet road; never uttering a word unless necessary. Jane seemed no different as she followed Kenny somewhat more to the left, opposite of Lee. Lee kept his pace beside Jane; to her right. Lee kept hold of a hammer in his hand he found during one of their quick scavenging jobs through various vehicles they encountered on their slow march to Howe's Hardware. Wind and foot steps were their only means of subtenant entertainment during their travels. Eventually, Kenny was the first to break the silence,

"One more day, and we'll be there."

"Seems like it." Lee agreed in a low tone.

They walked on for around another minute before Jane also grew bored of the silence; she peered off into the distance before briefly shrugging and speaking up,

"What do you think will be there when we get there? walkers? the people who survived the herd?"

"It'd be nice if, nobody were there except us." Kenny said.

Jane paused before emotionlessly replying, "Yeah, lets hope..."

Jane shook her head; doubting that after all that transpired that they could just continue on.

"Is there anything we need?" Jane asked.

"Be nice to have a car or something..." Kenny said as he rolled his right shoulder that was holding the duffle bag.

"There might be a few at Howe's. We could probably live out of that place." Jane added.

There was a prolonged silence. Lee sighed. Kenny slowed down and began walking beside Lee.

"Hey." Kenny said as they continued walking, "I miss 'em too, pal." Kenny said.

Lee remained silent.

"We did the right thing... for them." Kenny added.

Lee continued to stay silent.

"Leave him alone for a bit; he just needs a little time." Jane said.

"Nah... talking would probably help." Lee stated before taking a deep breath. "... I searched _so_ long. I tried _so _hard. I made many sacrifices... and many mistakes... we did the right thing but, it doesn't make this any easier." Lee said.

Kenny and Jane looked to each other briefly. They continued on, without speaking another word.

Twenty seven hours later...

The sun had began dimming across the sky as the group made their way down Perry highway; towards Howe's Hardware. Lee took the lead since he had the most experience down this trash covered road. Kenny and Jane were on opposite sides of Lee as they made their way down the road. Lee could almost see the large parking lot ahead. After two minutes of walking they had arrived in the parking lot. Tire tracks, blood marks, wooden planks, various assorted pieces of trash, and a few walkers littered the parking lot leading up to the large store.

"Well, here we are." Kenny stated as they progressed through the parking lot.

A moment later, the walkers began to notice the group approaching; the walking corpses began advancing towards them; hissing, growing, and moaning. Lee raised his hammer; Jane pulled her knife from it's quiver; Kenny kept ahold of the bag as they walked. Two walkers were closing in on the group. Lee sped his movement up, fearlessly.

"...Raaaaauuughhh..."

"...Auuunnngghhh..."

Lee kept his hammer somewhat low as the walkers were nearly on him.

"Uh, Lee?" Jane called in concern.

Suddenly Lee slammed his hammer into the skull of the walker on his right-most side, smashing through it's temple then quickly exiting only to be rotated and swung to meet the other walker's skull; killing both in less than four seconds. Both walkers fell to the ground in opposite directions.

"Slow down there, Lee." Kenny said.

Lee ignored him and continued to make his way towards their goal. Several walkers made their way towards Lee who was now, a couple of feet ahead of Kenny and Jane. Lee smashed through every walker in his path. Up until he reached the loading bay doors which, were all closed shut. After clearing the lot as Lee did, he found himself somewhat winded, breathing heavily.

"You guys wanna... get this thing open?" Lee asked as he attempted to catch his breath.

Kenny stepped forward and bent down before the door; dropping the green bag beside him.

"Hey, Lee I'm going to have to borrow that hammer of yours." He told him.

Lee outstretched his hammer to Kenny, handle out. Kenny took it and placed the flat end of the head between the small space at the bottom of the bay door and push down with the hammer, prying it a couple of inches open. Kenny proceeded to push up on the door, opening it as far as he could reach.

"Well, lets get in there." Kenny said before climbing into the warehouse.

Jane picked up the green bag and placed it into the elevated entrance before climbing inside. Lee followed just behind. Inside, the walls and floors seemed to have blood smeared over a good area along with many dead bodies. Jane pulled her knife out and bent down in front of the closest corpse near her and stabbed down into it's head.

"I'll make sure none of these are still moving. You guys look around for supplies." She said as she removed her knife from the skull of the deceased and moved onto yet another dead body. "Maybe we could stay here for awhile."

"There's an idea. Come on, Ken." Lee said as he began walking towards the double red doors that lead to the main area near Carver's office and where he thought the supply area would be.

Lee pushed the door open and made his way inside with Kenny beside him. The shelves and isles all appeared to be empty.

"Shit." Lee uttered as he began surveying the area.

"Lee, you were wrong about what you said to me." Kenny stated, mild aggression in his voice.

"What?" Lee asked as he turned to face him.

"What you said after you found me and Jane. Lemme tell you something, friend, I'd never have hurt that girl. I lost my goddamn eye to keep her safe, just like you lost your arm. What would you have done if someone killed Clem and they happened to be standing right in front of you?"

"Alright, Kenny I get it. It was just something- never mind we'll talk more about this later on." Lee said as he continued searching.

"Sure." Kenny said, unsatisfied.

"Hey, Ken?"

"What?"

"About a couple of minutes before we got split up in Savannah, a few minutes before Ben, Christa asked me what I wanted for Clem." Lee told him.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted her with you, Ken."

Kenny paused and thought about what his old friend told him. Kenny turned back to face Lee,

"I-"

Suddenly the sound of a gunshot erupted, just outside the area where Jane was.

"Shit!" Kenny said as he and Lee quickly hid behind a shelf.

"_What are you doing here?!" _An unknown, somewhat deep, voice yelled out.

"Who the fuck is that?" Lee asked.

"Fuck if I know. We gotta do something."

"We gotta help Jane. Listen, I'll walk out and see who they are and try to work something out, you stay by those doors. If anything happens I'll stay near the door too and run back inside then, you could grab him."

"Sounds like you've got a plan." Kenny said before the two of them ran towards the door.

Kenny took position against the wall towards the left of the two doors.

_"Don't move, thief." _The stranger on the other side ordered.

_"Look, I didn't know anyone was here, I'll just get going." _Jane replied calmly.

_"You can't just go!"_

"It's up to you now, Lee." Kenny told him.

Lee slowly opened the door and stepped inside. A Caucasian man with semi-long red hair, slicked back behind his ears, short beard, and glasses stood with a pistol pointed at Jane. The man noticed Lee and turned the gun on him,

"Now just who are you?" The man asked.

"Just some guy, we don't want any trouble." Lee replied.

A dark skinned woman and a boy stood behind the man.

"What are you doing here?" The stranger demanded.

"Nothing, just trying to survive." Lee answered.

Another man made his way into the stock room; the additional stranger had a ski-mask on.

"Randy! you found us a new friend?" The other man asked, eyeing Jane.

"I- uh... what do you propose we do with them?" Randy asked.

"'Them?'" The man confirmed before turning to look at Lee.

The man paused for a moment before pulling his mask off and tossing it aside.

"Witness?"

Lee looked to the man who just entered the stock room, instantly recognizing him, "...Nate?"

**Author's Note: Yeah, this chapter's a bit shorter than the usual ones I publish with my whole 4500 word quota but, this was technically one of the endings of season 2 and it was probably one of the shorter ones also. There are maybe around five or six more chapters I could write, depending on what you guys would like. Thanks again for reading. Also I'm going to be getting my own computer next week; I'll be able to fix up the whole story and hopefully be able to give out better quality work in the near future. And I was also brainstorming on a Wolf Among Us story I've been wanting to write. Who knows, maybe people will like it. **

**Author's Note, 2/22/15: I'm having some technical difficulties on my end. Looks like there isn't going to be an update on the 28th. *Shrug* Maybe it'll clear up but as of right now I am unable to make a new chapter.**


	24. This is going to be Fun

**Author's Note: I have been having some sort of sleep problem. I slept for sixteen hours and fifteen minutes. From 2:45 PM to 6:30 AM. And I still feel tired as I go throughout my day. It's completely random and odd. I'll try to be more consistent with my chapters in the future, though. Thanks for reading, you guys. I've got a few more good idea's that I'm going to build up to in the future. Check back whenever you like.**

**Day** **872, "Wellington", 9:45 AM**

**-Nate**

_"Approach the gate."_

Nate led his small group towards the large wall they were all relieved to see. The group consisted of, Randy, a Caucasian man with red hair, and a short stubble beard, also wearing a pair of glasses; Randy's wife, Patricia, a darker skinned woman with short hair; And their son, Gill, like his mother, dark skinned; the boy had short hair and a white and brown jacket.

"Looks like we've found it." Randy inferred while holding his wife's hand as they made their way towards the balcony.

"No shit." Nate said.

They stood below the balcony where a woman was standing over them.

"Hello. I'm Edith." The woman said.

"I'm Randy and this is my wife, Patricia and my son, Gill."

"Good to meet you."

"And I'm Nate, thanks for asking."

There was a brief silence.

"So, can we come in?" Patricia asked.

"Yeah, my boy's real hungry." Randy added.

The woman shook her head while briefly shutting her eyes, "Unfortunately our community isn't accepting new members; we're over capacity as it is and there's just, not enough to go around if we keep bringing people in..."

Randy frowned, "Now just hold on a minute-are you sure about this? I mean, we've gone through so much to get here and-"

"I'm very sorry, sir." Edith told him while pulling a green duffle-bag out from the side of the balcony and dropped it in front of the gate, "We can offer you these supplies but-just these supplies; I'm really sorry for th-"

Randy suddenly pulled his pistol out and aimed it at Edith. Nate raised a brow and crossed his arms.

"Randy!" Patricia yelled in surprise.

"You're letting us in-o-or I'm gonna have to use this!" Randy threatened.

Edith had her hands risen but quickly moved to cover after a brief stare down, also pulling her hand radio to her mouth in the same motion.

"Shit, okay it's time to get the fuck outta here, man! come on!" Nate yelled while snatching the bag Edith left them and began running to the hill behind them; the others instantly followed.

A couple of gunshots fired, along with the scattering of the snow near their feet. The group ran up the short hill-side then fell down the other side, rolling down much of the slope before regaining their footing.

"Nice work back there, dumb-ass; maybe at this rate, your whole family will end up dead before tomorrow." Nate told Randy as they all made their way down the hill.

Randy frowned but didn't acknowledge Nate's statement, "So, where do we go now?"

"We could try for Texas." Patricia suggested.

"Hell no, lady. We're going back down south; there's a settlement that, according to a guy I met on the way up here a day before I met you fine people, was overrun by walkers." Nate told them.

"Doesn't sound so ideal to me." Randy said.

"Oh, but threatening a vastly larger and or, vastly better armed group of people is?" Nate scoffed, "Let's go find my truck and get the hell out of this cold."

The group began their expedition south, through the forest.

**Day 880, Georgia, Perry highway, 6:23 PM**

Nate drove down on, passing an endless amount of trees. Loud country music was blaring, making Gill and Patricia, who were right beside him, uncomfortable. Nate simply tapped on the wheel and stared blankly ahead.

"Can you turn that down?" Gill asked.

Nate turned to face him, "Nope." He then diverted his attention back to the road.

Gill turned the volume nob down all the way.

"HEY! what do you think _you're _doin'? No touchy mi musica, comprende?" Nate lightly scorned before turning his music back on and shaking his head.

The music played on for another couple of seconds before Gill took the initiative to turn it off once more.

"Seriously, cut the shit, alright?" Nate told him, quickly flicking his music back on.

Gill sat quietly yet again, scratching his head before he turned the nob quickly with a blank expression.

Nate began squeezing his wheel in frustration.

Gill smiled deviously.

"So, how much further?" Patricia asked.

"I dunno. Maybe half a mile?" Nate told her.

She turned to look ahead to see a large parking lot on the right side of the road ahead; Trash and blood littered the lot. Nate turned and drove through the parking lot towards the visibly open loading bay door and parked up beside it. Nate opened his door and stepped out. Patricia pulled on her door handle.

"Hey, I got this; let me and Randy check this place out first, alright?" Nate asked before shutting his truck door.

Patricia rolled her eyes and shut her door.

Randy hopped out from the back and followed Nate towards the store's loading bay, pistol in hand.

"Let's see if there's anything here worth taking or, if we could maybe keep this place." Randy said as he climbed onto the loading platform.

"I wonder if the asshole who ran this place is dead." Nate said as he too climbed up into the warehouse.

The two walked through the stock room; Randy cautiously watching his step and surveying the area, Nate nonchalantly strolling ahead towards what looked like a stack of supplies in the middle of a couple of corpses.

"Hell yeah! what did I tell you? let's see what we got here." Nate said as he knelt down in front of the boxes of food and began examining the items before him, "Soup, soup, soup, soup, soup, green beans, soup, cereal, soup, peaches, water, water, peaches, baby formula, baby formula, soup uhhhh... cookies... I think? oh and some soup."

"Thank God. I'm going to check the place and make sure we're alone." Randy began making his way towards a pair of red double doors near some tall shelves with building supplies. "My boy's real hungry; be sure to get him something to eat, okay?" Randy requested before he entered the next room.

"Hell no; that kid ain't getting shit... turn off my music? nah." Nate grumbled as he continued to look through the supplies.

Suddenly a particular corpse caught Nate's attention, near the other open loading bay door. The body was male and wearing a brown, fur lined coat with dark pants and shoes. It also had grey hair and a terribly smashed face. Nate stood and approached the body; he bent down beside it and examined it up and down. He began searching the man's pockets: The left pocket had a car-key and other general assorted keys with the Howe's logo on them; Nate made sure to pocket them. The right pocket had a folded piece of paper. Nate unfolded it to see William Carver with a Caucasian woman wearing a blue and white hate with a 'D' on the front. Nate stood up and looked down at what remained of William Carver.

"Who'd you have to piss off to get your face mashed up like that?" Nate asked before spitting on the deceased body.

Patricia and Gill made their way inside. Nate turned to face them,

"Found some food but, the twerp can't have any of the cookies." Nate told them.

"Where's Randy?" She asked.

"He went off to check the place out or whatever." Nate vaguely informed her.

"Can we get this place sealed off before it starts to get dark?" Patricia asked.

"Sure, knock yourself out." Nate told her.

**Day 881, "Howe's Hardware stock room", 7:34 AM**

Nate snored loudly several meters away from the small family he'd been traveling with. Small amounts of sunlight made it's way through the skylights. Suddenly he felt a sharp sting on his cheek, he instantly snapped up,

"Huh?-HUH?!-the-fuck-what?" He uttered in surprise.

He was the only one awake at this point. He saw a pebble beside where he had been resting; he looked up above himself to see if it could have fell from above. No obvious source. He stretched his arms and grabbed his sweat-riddled denim jacket and pulled it back on. He then grabbed his hat off the floor and pulled it over his mullet. He then stood and made his way through the double red doors and into the main stock room.

"This fuckin' place has really been picked clean." He inferred to himself as he made his way past all the empty shelves.

He approached the stairs to Carver's office and began slowly and apathetically making his way up them in sheer boredom. He reached the top of the stairs and stood in front of Carver's office door. He reached for the door knob but hesitated after catching a nasty whiff of something on the other side of the door.

"I know that smell." He stated before he slowly turned the door knob and pushed it forward, letting it swing open.

The room had blood smeared all along the floor of the office; a walker with a ball cap stood in a corner near a bloody chair. A larger walker covered in blood sat in Carver's cushioned seat; he had glasses, a tan jacket, and a goatee.

"Nice, real nice." Nate said with a frown.

The larger walker in the chair stood and leaned over onto the table, knocking over everything on it. Nate took his knife and flipped it open before stabbing it into the walker's left temple and back out again; it's body went limp instantly. The second walker lunged towards Nate. Nate punched the walker in it's face, cutting it's cheek open since his knife was in his hand, facing opposite of his thumb. The walker fell down and attempted to sit up but Nate was already ahead of him; he grabbed the walking corpse's throat with his left hand and held it steady before slamming his knife down the upper right side of it's head and quickly pulling it out then repeating this process. After four hits, the walker fell still.

"I'm going to kill that asshole..." Nate whispered as he got back to his feet and wiped his hands.

**Two minutes later...**

Nate walked up to the sleeping family, glaring as he approached, fists clenched. He grabbed Randy's shirt collar and pulled him up.

"Wha-what? the fuck, Nate?" Randy questioned as he grabbed Nate's hands in an attempt to free himself.

Patricia sat up, "Is everything alright?"

Nate let go of Randy.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" Randy asked furiously.

Nate didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out his red cigarette carton and took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth. He then proceeded to pull out a match and scraped it against his jacket before lighting his cigarette and tossing the match down on the ground. Nate pulled his cigarette out and blew smoke into Randy's face.

"Sure." Nate answered.

Nate kneed Randy in the groin.

"AHHGG-CK!" Randy let out as he fell to the ground in pain.

Nate proceeded to begin repeatedly and firmly kick Randy in his abdomen.

"Stop!" Patricia yelled as she sprang up.

Nate pulled out a small revolver and aimed it at her as he continued kicking Randy. She stopped and stared in terror.

"St-stop..." Randy pleaded before spitting out blood and slumping onto the ground.

Nate began stomping instead after Randy collapsed. After several hits Nate turned to see Patricia hiding her son's face with her embrace as she sobbed.

"So, Randy." Nate began.

Randy didn't respond.

"RANDY!" Nate yelled.

"...What...?" he answered.

Nate smoked once more before tossing it on randy's back and lightly stepping it out.

"Why, exactly, was my morning ruined?" Nate asked.

"How should I fucking know?" Randy said as he began to get back to his feet.

"Because YOU ruined it by leaving two walker's upstairs. I could have been killed, you know? what if they got out and got us all in our sleep?"

Randy didn't respond to that, he simply held his chest in pain and approached his family.

"I'm not the bad guy here-I'm just looking out for your family. Something you evidently aren't doing, leaving those two up there instead of killing them like you were supposed to." Nate lectured.

Randy hugged his family.

**Day 896, "Howe's hardware parking lot", 5:34 AM**

Nate sat in his truck, picking at his teeth while looking at himself in the mirror. He glanced over at the door in which Randy was supposed to be coming out from.

"Efficient." He said before sighing and placing his right hand on his cheek.

Randy made his way out with a green bag with a pair of rifles and other useful gear. He turned and kissed his wife and hugged his son before making his way towards the truck. Nate turned the key and the truck whizzed on. Randy opened his door and slid inside before briefly slamming his door shut. Nate raised a brow,

"Alright then..." Nate said before switching gears and turning the wheel as the truck was accelerating out of the parking lot and towards the highway.

They drove on down the road, never glancing to look at each other. Eventually, Nate broke the silence,

"So, those two looked pretty worried for you."

Randy didn't respond.

"Alright, you're still pissed. I get it, really."

Randy turned to face him, "Do you?"

"Hell yeah, getting the shit knocked outta ya can suck. But I think I did the right thing. You should have made sure we were alone before we all slept there. What if those two brute made their way down stairs an gobbled up your boy?"

"You did that in front of my Gill, in front of MY son." Randy told him, as if almost snarling.

Nate kept silent.

"I'm not sure if it's possible for you to understand since you don't care about anyone and nobody is left around to care about you but, that hurt them more than anyone else." Randy told him before turning back to watch the road.

"I'm sorry, Randy. Was a bad morning, I suppose. I'll make it up to you guys, you'll see." Nate said.

"Fine."

Randy turned to look out his window while Nate kept his attention on the road.

**Day 897, Chattahoochee National Park, ****3:34 AM**

The two men made their way between a seemingly infinite number of trees; both with rifles in their hands and orange vests. It was still quite dark dark. Cold winds blew through the forest constantly.

"It's pretty dark. Isn't it?" Nate asked.

"I suppose so." Randy answered, following Nate from behind.

Nate placed his rifle over his shoulder before pulling his flashlight out from his pocket and flicking the button on the top forward with his thumb; the path in front of them now illuminated.

"Turn that off." Randy told him.

"Why? I can't see shit out here."

"Because you're going to draw too much attention to us." Randy said as he raised his gun cautiously.

"Oh so NOW you're being careful? look it's dark and you're the one who said, 'I want to get back to the warehouse as soon as possible', so shut up already." Nate argued before he shined the light towards his left then back towards their direction of travel.

"How are we even going to catch anything with that light on?" Randy questioned.

Nate began walking backwards and shining the light into Randy's face, "Would you stop being a pus-"

Suddenly Nate tripped and fell back on something; he hit the ground with a thud and dropped his flashlight, damaging it in the process.

"Agh... fuck..." Nate said before reaching for flashlight which, was now blinking rapidly.

"Are you alright?" Randy asked.

"Yeah, yeah..." Nate said as he sat up and grabbed his flashlight before pointing it towards what he had tripped over.

A smile formed on Nate's face.

"A deer?" Randy said in disbelief.

"Guess you were right, Randy, tripping over shit in the dark does work." Nate said as he began examining the deer corpse.

There were arrows in the deer's neck and rear.

"There's an arrow in it's ass, must be someone else's kill." Nate inferred.

"What do we do?" Randy asked.

Suddenly an additional arrow came flying through the dark and landing beside Randy's leg.

"What the hell was that?!" Randy questioned as he raised his gun towards the opposite trajectory of the arrow.

Nate stood and shined his flashlight in the same direction. Three men with hockey masks and black robes stood several feet away, holding bows and arrows.

_"Keep moving." _A deep, intimidating voice said.

Nate turned to Randy, "Let's get these fuckers."

"What?" Randy asked.

"This is going to be fun."


	25. You slept peacefully

**Author's Note: I was thinking of putting this story on hold for a little bit after posting this chapter for the following two reasons: Everyone pretty much abandoned ship after Clem and Lee split, or at-least I think they did? anyway, I've got a very bad idea for a one-chapter walking dead story that I think you're going to hate. I am determined to write it. I'm still going to put plenty of effort into this story, though. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Day 897, Perry highway, GA, 3:14 PM**

**-Nate**

The green and white truck made it's way down the road, never exceeding thirty miles. Country music played on the truck radio. A deer carcasas rested in the truck bed, sliding back and forth as the road demanded. Randy stared straight ahead, blood smeared on his clothes, hands, and face, eyes wide with shock, unable to move a muscle. Nate, on the other hand, was cherishing their early-morning-exploits; he too was covered in blood and was wearing a blood covered hockey mask.

"Nate." Randy said quietly.

Nate turned to face Randy, "Yup?"

"Can you, can you... just..." Randy tried, voice shaking as he spoke.

Nate turned back to face the road ahead of him. He quickly turned the music that was playing off.

"There you go, compadre. Didn't realize you guys hated this kind of music so much." Nate said sarcastically."No, I didn't mean the-"

"Then what did you mean?" Nate asked.

Randy turned away from Nate and began staring tensely out his window.

"That's what I thought." Nate stated.

"Nate?"

"Whaaat...?"

Randy paused to think about what to say next, "You didn't have to do that..."

"Me? if I'm not mistaken, you were the one to put a bullet in that one guy's eyeball. You remember that right?" Nate asked.

"Fuck... I'm no stranger to killing but, you just..."

"Tore a guy's throat out with one of his own arrows? smash another guy's head against a tree over and over? that was kinda fucked up, huh?" Nate humored.

"Could you seriously just get rid of that mask? I don't want my boy seeing it."

"So, there are dead guys walking around eating people and tearing their spleens out, and you're worried about a mask? come on, man."

Nate could see the Howe's hardware parking lot ahead.

"There's a washcloth in the glove compartment; you can wipe yourself off with that." Nate told him as they near the lot.

Randy opened the glove compartment and quickly wiped his face, neck, and hands. Nate turned and into the parking lot to see Patricia and Gill beside the building, hiding almost.

"What are they doing outside?" Randy asked.

Nate parked the truck a few feet from the building. Randy quickly opened his door and hopped out before he ran towards his family.

_"Some people showed up, they're inside now." _Patricia informed him.

Nate opened his door, got out, and focused his attention on the deer in the truck-bed.

"Nate, come on-we have to confront these guys." Randy said.

"You got your gun?" Nate asked.

"Yeah." Randy answered, unsure.

"Well go point it at them; you seem to be pretty good at doing that when someone tells you, 'no'" Nate said, smirking under the mask.

Randy shook his head in disbelief before turning and running around the side of the building towards the loading bay area.

**Day 900, 'Howe's hardware loading-bay room', 8:56 PM**

**-Lee**

The combined group sat in the darkened room, around a fire they made with planks of wood; Patricia made sure to lift open the skylights so the smoke could escape the building. Kenny sat against a wall a couple of feet away from the rest of the group. Jane sat near the fire and looked into it, lost in thought. Randy appeared stressed, constantly keeping his hand on his forehead with his eyes shut. Patricia held his hand and looked to him, concern on her face. Gill did as Jane did, simply watching the fire sizzle. Nate sat beside Jane, hoping to gain her attention. Lee laid back, using his arm to support his head; he looked up at the stars through one of the skylights above him, as if he were fatigued, as if he completed a marathon, as if he had fulfilled his role in this life.

"Come on, now, uh, Jane. We could have a good thing going, can't we? I think so." Nate said.

Jane scoffed, "Screw off."

"Ouch. Come on baby, I'm sure we've got plenty in common." Nate persisted.

"You're probably ten years older than me, and your smell is revolting, fuck off." Jane told him.

"A lady like you must like to drink, right?" Nate inferred.

"Sometimes." She admitted, with a half grin.

"How's about I go get my secret stash and you and me can have an experience." Nate said edging closer to her.

"Like I said, screw off." Jane told him.

"Come. On! don't be so stuck up. You know how irresistible I am." Nate stated head tipped in her direction.

Kenny spoke out, "Yeah, give him a chance. You two could talk about how neither of you care about no-one else."

Jane turned and gave him the finger.

"Hey, how's about you fuck off, old man?" Nate said.

"How's about you make me?" Kenny replied, standing up.

Patricia stood up, "Come on, mister, let's just take a breath, alright?"

Kenny looked to her, then to Gill, "Fine." Kenny sat back down.

Nate scoffed, "Where were we?"

Jane looked away and shook her head before turning back to face Nate, "You know what? let's go find that secret stash." She told him with a wink.

"Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about." Nate stood and made his way towards the loading bay door and pulled it up.

Jane followed and crouched under the large door before Nate left too and pulled the gate shut.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Kenny said.

Randy stood, "I think it's time my family and I go get some rest."

"Alright." Kenny said, not looking to the man.

Randy shrugged and he and his family made their way towards the doors leading to the main stock room.

It's got quiet once more. Lee kept staring up at the night stars, through the skylight.

Lee spoke slowly and quietly, "...Can you imagine it?"

"What?" Kenny asked.

"I can see her... eating warm meals... sleeping with a blanket... making friends... smiling... like before all of this." Lee said as his eyes grew heavier and heavier.

Kenny didn't respond, he thought about that.

"I can see her and A.J, safe, mostly." Kenny said.

"Oh yeah?" Lee said with a smile.

Kenny's expression changed to sorrow, his eyes brow turned, face low.

"I miss my boy..." He said with a slight lip quiver.

Lee's expression softened as well.

"I wish I had spent more time with him, instead of running off to sit in some... fucking boat." Kenny let out.

Lee sat up and stared at Kenny, sympathy and concern on his face, along with personal sadness.

"The look on Kat's face, when ever I turned down time with them for selfish reasons... I wish I could have shown them that I loved them..." Kenny said before a tear made it's way down his face.

"We all make mistakes, Ken. They both knew how much you cared for them." Lee assured him.

"I want to picture them, up there in heaven; at peace. I want to feel that they're still alive, in some way... but what God would do all of this? raise the dead to kill your loved ones? all those unanswered prayers! unrewarded faith... nothing but punishment!" Kenny ranted. "Maybe I'm not cut out for this world... I should just..."

"That's not the right thing to do, Ken." Lee told him.

"Then what is?!" Kenny demanded.

"You don't just end it because it's hard, you stick it out, and help the folks you care about." Lee said as he stood and approached the mourning man, kneeling and placing his hand on his shoulder, "I'm with you, Kenny; until the end." Lee said with a smile you could only get from a best friend.

"Thanks, pal." Kenny said, half-smiling.

**Day 901, "Howe's hardware roof", 7:19 AM**

**-Jane**

Jane stood near the ledge of the roof, arms crossed. She kept staring past the treeline; nothing but cloudy skies stretching on forever, not even a bird in sight. She turned to eye the wooden lift to her left.

"That girl had guts..." She said as she scratched her head.

The wind blew a harsh cold breeze past Jane. She turned and made her way towards the door leading to the stairs past Carver's office. Suddenly Nate pushed the door open and greeted Jane with raised brows and a half grin.

"Don't even start." Jane told him, attempting to walk past him.

Nate grabbed her wrist before she could make her escape, "Whoa hold on now. I found something." Nate pulled out a large nail-file and waved it near her face.

"Thanks." She said as she reached for it only for Nate to quickly move it out of her reach.

"Yeah, I know how you females like to keep your nails well kept. You can have it if you let me know something."

"What?" She asked, agitated.

"So, am I like, your boyfriend or some shit? are we going to... make a habit of this? or, something?" Nate asked with a confident look on his face.

"Does it really matter? were you after some sort of relationship? I'd prefer if we never spoke of this again; there's nothing between us." Jane told him sternly.

Nate frowned and looked down at the nail-file.

"Alright, then." Nate gently pried opened Jane's left hand and quickly placed the file there before letting go of her and walking towards the green-house.

Jane looked down at the file and clutched it before sighing. She watched Nate pull the green-house door open, and slam it loudly. "Well, there I go again... leaving another person behind." Jane said, a sad frown on her face as she made her way down the stairs, into the warehouse.

"Maybe I-" Jane stopped halfway down the stairs, having noticed something on the wall beside her, a carving of a large flower, with words carved in the middle of the flower. "I don't think this was here before..." Jane inferred.

The carving read,

_"September means it's time again,  
for going off to school.  
The days are getting shorter,  
and the nights are getting cool."_

A smaller carving, a couple of inches below the poem read,

_"You slept peacefully, Lee."_


	26. Walking with a Ghost

**Author's Note: I'm not abandoning this story, normally I post on Saturdays but I have a ton of homework and studying to do. I was wondering if it were possible for someone to, I don't know, make an art work based on my story. It would be neat and I'd really appreciate it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

**Day 300, Chattahoochee National Forest, GA, 9:52 AM**

**-September**

"Dad...?" September uttered, sight blurry, hearing muffled and ringing.

_"Hold on, September. I'll get us out of this." _Jan said.

September could make out what appeared to be trees above her, zipping by rapidly.

_"...Raaauugghhh..."_

_"Come on. Where is everybody!?" Jan yelled._

"...Where are we going, dad?" September whispered.

"_Shit!" Jan exclaimed._

Suddenly she couldn't feel her father's arms anymore. Instead, she felt a sharp pain on the right side of her body before blacking out.

_September sat, on the end of her bed as her mother, dressed in a grey suit for work, combed her curly hair for her._

_"I miss Florida." September stated._

_"Yeah, well we have more opportunities here." August told her._

_"Opportunities for what?" _

_"Well, your father makes a decent living as a barber across the street. And you know what I do." _

_"Sit behind a desk?" September muttered. _

_"Hey, where do you think your food comes from, huh?" August said._

_Jan peered into the room. "The bus gets here in five minutes." _

_"Take a hike, dad." September told him, causing August to begin laughing._

_"Sure." He said, shaking his head with a smile before walking off._

_August ran her hand through her daughters soft hair. "Perfect." She said before standing and turning towards the door._

_"Mom?" September called._

_August turned back to September. "What's is it?" She asked with a smile._

_"I like your hair." She told her, staring at her also quite long, shiny, coiled hair._

_"Be glad I'm your mom then, sweetie; your hair's pretty much the same; check the mirror for confirmation. I've got to go, be good at school today." August said before kissing her daughter on the forehead and walking off._

September slowly opened her eyes to see a pair of dead walkers on the ground beside her. She sat up, brushed the dirt off of her arm and side.

"Agh...!" She whimpered, feeling a sharp pain in her head, causing her to place her hand on the side of her head.

When she removed her hand she noticed bits of blood on her palm. "Must have... hit my head, in the crash..." She said before getting to he feet and slowly shuffling her way forward.

"Dad?" She called out. "Hello? anyone here? uh oh..."

Several meters ahead, a large herd of walkers gathered. Gunshots and shouting could be heard on the other side of the gathering. September began backing away, not from fear, but caution. She began scanning her surroundings until she noticed a corpse leaned against a tree, with a black pickaxe stuck in the base of it's head. She quickly jogged towards the body and took hold of the axe and began tugging, and turning it side to side. The corpse's head moved with the axe.

"Come on, just let go." September said as she continued to pull.

A stray male walker in a blue mechanic's suit noticed September and began quickly shuffling towards her, huffing and puffing disturbingly. September noticed and began tugging even harder, almost frantically. The walker neared closer and closer, mere feet from the confused ten year old. When she finally managed to free the weapon, she instantly turned and swung in the direction of the dead man directly behind her.

"Die!" She exclaimed, having sliced the walker's right cheek open.

The geek's head turned on impact. September didn't hesitate to raise the weapon and slam it against it's head once more; her weapon quickly penetrated and stayed as the monster fell back. She bent down and pulled the pick-axe out of yet another dead body. She looked at the herd in the distance, then down at the corpse.

"I really liked this jacket." She said before unzipping the walkers mechanic suit, exposing it's abdomen and stabbing it's stomach open and pulling back on it. "Come on... just cut." She began leaning back, putting her weight into the job.

Suddenly the axe ripped open the stomach in one nasty cut, causing September to fall back from momentum. She quickly sat back up and dug her arms into it's stomach and began pulling out dark, slimy, reeking organs and coating herself with the dark blood which dripped from them.

"Why would he just leave me here?" She questioned aloud, beginning to feel frustrated.

She got up after she thought she was coated enough. She glared off at the herd and frowned before advancing towards it.

"I guess not even dad can keep me safe. Fine, I'll do it myself." She said through gritted teeth. "I mean who has he ever helped? he let mom die..."

She continued forward, mere meters away from the large grouping of the dead. At this point, the gunshots had stopped. The combined moans of the herd were all that could be heard. She slowly made her way into herd, getting nudged and bumped on her way inside. After a couple of minutes of pushing her way through the dead, she arrived on the other side.

"Where are they?" She asked, surveying the area.

She turned towards the herd to see a large grouping of the dead bent over and eating something; many other members of the herd tried to squeeze through and get a bite at whatever it was they were gorging on.

"Darn it!" She hissed quietly before running off in the other direction of the herd, further into the woods.

**Two hours later...**

The forest appeared to infinite. She had put maybe six miles between her, and the herd, but still could not find the other survivors, or her dad. She felt her legs begin to buckle from exhaustion.

"Where the hell _am_ I?" She moaned, frustration and fatigue evident in her voice.

She stopped and let herself fall back, onto the ground. She shut her eyes tightly.

"I can't believe this." She stated as the wind blew across her face, leaving a brown leaf on her forehead.

"You okay, kid?" A deep voice asked from the direction her head was pointing in.

She opened her eyes and rolled onto her stomach to see who it was; a tall man in a black trench coat and a white hockey mask; he had a wooden bow in his left hand, and a grey arrow quiver with several wooden arrows strapped on his back. September got to her feet and stared at the man, suspiciously.

"What's your name, girl?" He asked, calmly.

"I'm, uh..." She said, trying to determine whether she should tell him.

The man placed his bow down, slowly, and took his mask off. He was a Caucasian man, maybe in his forties, with short brown and grey hair; he also had a short, stubble beard which was completely grey. Two features stood out before all else, his large, blue eyes; they appeared tired but also focused, almost like an animal of some sort; there was also an odd scar, leading from the side of his lip to his left ear.

"See? I'm one of you, I'm on your side. My name is Floki." He said as he crouched down, placing his arms on their respective knees.

"September." She told him.

"September? that's an odd name." He joked.

"So is, Floke or whatever." She responded.

He let out a small chuckle. "So, you been by yourself through all of this?"

"No, was with my parents, they're dead though. Then I was... um-rescued by a nice man, then we got separated a few days ago." She briefly explained.

"So you haven't got any place to go?" He inquired.

"That sounds about right."

"Well, September, if you want, you can follow me to my camp." He offered.

She paused and thought about it. "How do I know I'll be safe there?" She asked.

"Hon, I'm not sure if you've figured this out yet but, there is no-place-safe anymore." He said before standing back up and picking up his mask and putting it back on. He then retrieved his bow and began walking off.

September looked around before running up beside Floki.


	27. Perspective

**Day 867, ****Chattahoochee National Park, GA, "Woodsmen's camp," 7:01 AM**

September opened her eyes and sat up. She felt around the large quilt she had been sleeping on for her green backpack. After locating it, she stood and unzipped the entrance to her small blue tent; allowing light to shine inside. She then dumped her almost empty backpack out onto the quilt. A knife, a comb, a hand mirror, and a lighter fell out. She turned and pressed a button on her battery powered CD player; in green text, 'up the wolves-the mountain goats' showed up across the front. An acoustic guitar and possibly a violin began playing a soft but steady melody began. September then proceeded to comb her hair while looking in the mirror.

_"There's bound to be a ghost at the back of your closet." _

September continued combing as her music played.

_"No matter where you live... There'll always be a few things, maybe several things... That you're going to find really difficult to forgive..."_

September stared out of her tent towards the trenches that they dug around their small camp as she continued combing.

_"There's going to come a day when you feel better... You'll rise up free and easy on that day... And float from branch to branch, lighter than the air... Just when that day is coming, who can say, who can say?" _

September began singing along as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, "Our mother has been absent... Ever since we founded Rome... But there's going to be a party... When the wolf comes home!"

"What are you doing?" Floki asked as he pulled his mask up to look at her face-to-face.

"I, uh... so what are we doing today?" September asked.

Floki dropped a smaller bow and quiver of arrows in front of her.

"There were some guys scouting out our camp, we're going to keep an eye on them and see what they want." He told her as he covered his face with his mask before walking off.

September put on on her knife belt and pulled on her ski mask before slinging her arrow quiver over her back and grabbing her bow. She then made her way outside and ran up beside Floki. Floki walked her up towards the tree located in the center of their camp which, was surrounded by one circular trench. Without speaking, he leaped up and grabbed onto the branch above him and pulled himself up. September put her bow across her chest, backed up and got a running start before she jumped forward, her right foot meeting the tree truck before she shifted her weight and leaped to the side, grabbing onto the branch. As she pulled herself up, she noticed Floki in a distant tree.

"Oh, whatever." She said as she began running across the tree trunk before leaping into another.

The branch she landed on shook and bounced. In response, she teeter-totted to keep her balance. Just as the branch grew still, she began running across it. She proceeded to make her way through the trees, trying to keep up with Floki. Branch-to-branch, she felt like a ninja making her way ahead. Suddenly, she slipped and found herself plummeting off to the side.

"AAAHHHH!" She screeched as she grabbed for the nearest branch. "... fuck..." She let out as she breathed heavily.

She successfully managed to keep from falling to her death, walkers looked up from below and began growling and raising their arms up, just a few feet out of reach. Instead of celebrating, she secured her other hand onto the thinner branch, and began swinging her legs back and forth. She forced herself forward and landed in between the two main branches of the tree in front of her, which made a V shape. She then stood, one foot against both sides before jumping up and grabbing the branch in front of her. She pulled herself up. Floki stood on the branch beside her.

"Darlin'... try keeping up next time." He told her, placing his hand on her shoulder, before turning and running off.

September sighed and continued to follow. After a few more minutes, Floki raised his hand, signalling her to stop and stay quiet. Witt and Oak were in their own trees several feet away, watching the group below them. There were five large orange tents below them and a red mini-van; seven men were visible in different areas of the camp.

"Looks mostly innocent thus far." September inferred in a whisper.

"Let's keep an open mind for now; these guys _were_ scouting us out." Floki responded with the same volume.

September stared back down at the camp, quickly scanning the men below. All of a sudden, the mini-van rear door swung upward and open; a young girl hopped out with her arms tied behind her back. The men instantly stood and rushed towards her, subduing her within seconds. She didn't get five feet from the van. September's pupils dilated, her eyes widened, she began slightly trembling.

_"You girls know what time it is?"_

_"Come on now."_

_"You're a pretty one."_

September frowned and pulled her bow out and grabbing an arrow in the same motion.

"Whoa there, girl. Let's just examine this situation, we know they have some held captive."

"What is this? judge and jury? we need to put arrows in their asses, right now." September growled.

"I agree, I just want to know what you propose, a strategy." Floki told her as he got his bow out, resulting in Oak and Witt to draw their bows as well.

September could hardly think straight at this point; she looked down at the men, burning with hatred.

"This is what I was telling you about, you have to know when to let your mind in when you feel heated. Focus that fire on your foes." Floki told her.

September took one more look down before looking back up at Floki with a look of determination,

"Me and Witt soar down, you and Oak stay up here, you're the better shots." September said before hopping to the next branch to her left, about a few feet lower than the previous on. She sneaked to the end of the branch and peered down at her target, only six feet below her. She looked up to see Witt already in position. She removed her bow and left it to sit right behind her. She pulled her knife out and peered down at the man closest to her; he was white with with long brown hair, wearing blue jeans and a grey jacket on, along with a black hat. She stood and leaped forward, she held her knife steady, aiming for his neck. She made contact, her knife plunged into the man's neck, spraying blood onto her hand; knocking him forward. When the man hit the ground, September instantly pulled her knife out and held it by the blade before chucking it at the next-to-nearest stranger.

"What the fuck?"

"Get the guns!"

"Who the hell?"

Phrases uttered after Witt and September took out most of their people in less than ten seconds. Two arrows flew down from the heavens, each hitting their desired targets in the eye sockets. The last man raised his arms above his head and got on his knees. He shook with fear and disbelief. September recovered her knife and approached the man.

Witt stood in front of her before she could advance, "What do you think?" He asked, letting his Australian accent be heard from behind his bloody hockey mask, "Should will kill this poor man in cold blood?"

September made her way around him and stood before the final survivor. He had semi-long blonde hair, a short beard, light blue eyes, and a heavy brown jacket on.

"Please..." He pleaded, his face shaking with terror.

"Did the girl in that van say 'please' too? after what you did to her?!" September yelled.

"I uh, I never-"

September shoved her knife into his eye on back out again. She held him up by his hair with one hand and hacked at the man's neck with the other. After less than half a minute, she decapitated the man's remains. She stared at the head, not an ounce of remorse on her face. She dropped the severed head and approached the van and opened the back; the girl, maybe around nine, kept her eyes shut and scooted as far as possible away from the rear door; she was very pale skinned with red hair, wearing jeans, a pink jacket, and white sneakers.

"Hello..." September said.

"Please just stay away from me... please..." The girl sobbed.

Floki walked up beside September and took his mask off before taking a seat in the van, "So, want me to get your hands free for you?"

The girl scooted her way out of the van and hopped out. Floki quickly sliced the bindings around her hands, they fell to the ground. She rubbed her arms.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Sydney. What's your name?"

"Me? uh, Phillip." Floki told her. "So, why did these men have you in the car?"

"I want to go home." She told him.

"Do you know where that is? maybe where your people are?" Floki asked.

"By the river, that way." She pointed to the north.

**Several minutes later...**

Floki led the group, Sydney just behind him. Oak followed behind Sydney. Witt and September walked side-by-side after Oak. The river was visible in the distance.

"So, what was that little quarrel about back there, ankle biter?" Witt asked.

"I don't know what you're asking." September replied.

"Come on, you gave that man back there a spiffy chopping. Got a bit of pent up anger?"

September didn't give an answer.

"You don't mind I ah make a wee little observation do ya?" Witt asked, scratching his long, messy, blonde hair.

"Not at all." She responded.

"I think, some bastard must of done wrong by you." Witt told her. "Perhaps he might of even took somethin' from ya. Maybe-"

"Maybe we ought to keep it down back there." Floki said.

September felt her eye twitch slightly, "Maybe I gained something, mean, in the process."

The group reached the river; the flow of water was relatively shallow, but it ran fast. Beyond the river were a multitude of green, blue, and white tents. Dozens of people roamed among the camp, dealing with various chores. Three men and a woman, all armed with rifles, approached and crossed the river. Floki stepped aside. A man with red hair, and a long beard with the same color, dropped his rifle and bent down, outstretching his arms to Sydney. Sydney rushed forward and hugged the man.

"Thank you all, very much! you've brought my baby girl back to me..." The man said before turning back to the camp and walking off.

The multitude of people across the river began clapping in applause. Floki turned and began walking back in the direction of their camp.

**Five hours later...**

September sat in her respective tent, staring out at the camp-fire in the center of their camp. Witt sat just outside her tent, drinking a bottle of water.

"What a crummy day, eh?" Witt asked.

"How do you figure?" She responded.

"How do ah figure? we zipped through those damn trees, cut some fuck muppets up, deliver a bloody ankle biter to those ungrateful dip shits... all that? as good as tits on a bull."

"That's how you feel?" September asked.

"I don't give a rat's ass right now, I'm buggered."

Oak sat near the fire, hands outstretched.

"Oak."

Oak ignored him.

"Does he ever say anything?" September asked.

"What do you think? have you ever seen the sorry prick waggle his tongue?" Witt replied with a chuckle.

"I suppose not."

"Let's try to get his attention, aye?"

"Sure."

"Okay, just bitch at em until he's pissed off something nasty." Witt laughed.

"Um yeah, sure." September said as she rolled her eyes.

"You're as boring as bat shit!" Witt yelled.

No response.

"Chocolate driller!"

No acknowledgement.

"Fuck knuckle!"

Nothing.

"Wow." September said.

"Well aren't you an arse monkey..."

Oak grabbed a rock and chucked it at Witt. Witt lifted his foot and blocked it with his boot.

"Crikey! the hell is your problem, mate?"

Still no answer.

Floki approached the fire, "I've found something for you all to do. We move out when the sky begins to darken."

**Five hours later...**

September held onto the smaller tree-branch with her left hand, both legs against the tree, staring down at the various tents below her. She looked above her to see Oak surveying the camp, bow in hand. He looked down at her and nodded. She let go of the branch and landed, rolling forward to reduce the impact. She began lightly jogging through the camp. She stumbled upon a small wooden crate, she bent down and examined to contents; canned foods of various types. She lifted it and made her way back to the tree she was hanging over and placed it down gently.

"Hurry it up. Will you?" Witt pressured.

She ignored him and made her way back into the camp. She repeated this process several times, always returning them to the same tree. Witt and Floki were carrying them off and onto the mini-van from the kidnappers camp, a quarter mile from this camp. September began finding it increasingly difficult to see as time drew on. The lookouts were all in fold-able chairs, rifles on their sides. The only problem was, they weren't watching the camp, only the trees around them. As September continued looking for any-other goods to steal, she noticed an open, grey tent. She approached cautiously, every step slow and steady. She peaked her head into the tent to see the girl from before-Sydney, sleeping. Other than that, there was nothing else of any real-use in the tent.

"I'm sorry about today, Sydney." September whispered before turning to sneak off.

Suddenly, September felt a sharp pain smack her across the cheek, before everything went completely dark.

_Lee sat in his stool, examining his nine-millimeter pistol on the counter. _

_"Lee?" September whispered from her sleeping-bag._

_Lee lifted his head up, and slightly turned his head, "What is it, Swee-I mean, September?" He answered, half asleep._

_"Were you ever married?" _

_"Yeah, I was." Lee said as he rubbed his eyes._

_"Did you ever have kids?" She asked as she sat up._

_"No kids."_

_"Why is that?"_

_There was a short pause, "It just never happened. My wife, she wasn't ready for that sort of thing."_

_"Did it make you mad?" _

_"Yeah, a little."_

_September kept quiet after that for a brief time._

_"You ever been to jail?" She asked._

_"No, why would you say that?" He responded with a chuckle._

_"So, you've never been put somewhere you couldn't get out from?" _

_"I was locked in a freezer once." _

_September yawned._

_"So, how many people have you had to kill?" She asked._

_"More than I care to talk about."_

_"Nice." She said, slightly irritated._

_"September."_

_"What?" _

_"You should always know when you're supposed to take a life, and when you shouldn't." He told her._

_"And when is that?" _

_"When you or the people you care about are in danger."_

**Some time later...**

September snapped her head up, feeling a cold sensation engulf her person. She shivered and breathed quickly. She looked down to see herself tied to a wooden chair.

"Was that really necessary?" A voice behind her said.

Sydney's father stepped up in front of her, tossing a bucket to the side.

"It sure wasn't." He said, looking down at September.

September glared at the man. He stepped closer to her,

"Where do you and your friends stay?" The man questioned.

September kept quiet. The man frowned and raised his hand. September smiled. The man brought his hand down, smacking her as hard as he could. The chair fell over to the side. September ached in pain.

"Come on, man, don't treat her like that!" The man behind her yelled.

"This little bitch stole countless supplies from us, got twelve of our people killed, and was spying on my daughter as she slept; she doesn't deserve any better!" The man snapped back. "Now, get her back up."

September felt a hand on her right arm before being tipped back upright. Her abuser bent down and got in her face, staring into her eyes, anger obvious in his,

"Now, I'll ask again."

"Ask all you want, I'll be very far from here in two minutes." She told him with a grin.

"And how exactly do you figure tha-"

September forced her head forward, slamming it against his nose. He backed away, groaning and holding his face in pain. In the same instance of the blow she leaned back, using her momentum to tip the chair back. The chair slammed against the ground, smashed instantly. September grabbed a piece of wood and rolled to the side before springing back up.

"Hey!" The man behind her yelled; he had short black hair and tan skin, he also wore a brown t-shirt and cargo pants.

September flung the piece of wood at the man incoming. It flew and slammed against his forehead, stunning him. She turned and began running towards the closest tree, performing another wall pass. As she pulled herself up, she heard a gunshot go off, feeling the force of a bullet whiz by her face. She ignored it and kept her composure. She leaped to another branch and began making her way higher and higher. Several shots went off below her, each missing. She could fell the shots colliding with the tree branch she was lying on for cover.

"Get back down here!" The red-haired man yelled.

"No can do, carrot-top!" She yelled back.

"Then we'll burn down this damn tree!"

"Ha! good idea! then maybe you'll manage to get your entire camp killed by walkers!" She taunted.

September hopped up and began running across the tree branch; once she reached the end, she leaped to the next branch, performing a mid-air roll in the process. She landed perfectly and continued moving from tree-to-tree.

**Fifteen minutes later**...

September stopped and took a break, leaning against the tree-truck, legs swinging on both sides of the branch she was sitting on. She looked around the trees surrounding her; the green leaves began to turn brown and fall, the breeze was cool and calming. She looked up at the sky,

"Isn't it beautiful mom?" She asked, watching the clouds slowly move in the sky. "Well, you can't really answer me back, you're dead after all. But if you were here I'm guessing you would probably say what you always used to..."

"Just like you?" Floki asked, standing on a branch below her.

"Good guess." September said with a laugh.

"That was pretty impressive back there. The way you kept your nerve and got yourself out of that." Floki told her.

"Thanks, I am pretty awesome, huh? wait, you were _watching_ the whole thing? I might've died!" September yelled, looking down at Floki.

"Don't worry, I had my bow drawn on him." Floki said, smiling.

"Oh and what about the bullet that whizzed by my head?"

"You may have a point there."

"You think?"

"You remember when I told you, 'there is no-safe-place anymore?'" Floki asked, taking a seat on the branch.

"That was the day we met, right?" September said.

"Yep, that's the one."

"You got a point about this?" September asked, rolling her eyes.

"There is no safe place, but there are people, who can make it safe. You can make yourself safe, no matter where you are, or who you are with." He told her.

**Day 897, ****Chattahoochee National Park, GA, "Woodsmen's camp,", 12:56 AM**

September looked down at the hole that had been dug, it was filled with several walkers. She looked to the rest of the empty camp, There were crates piled all around the middle of the camp.

"Hunting my rear, look at all this stuff." She said before kicking one of the crates and storming off towards her tent.

She stopped and eyed the other tents, she had never been allowed to go through the other tents before, but now, there's nobody around to stop her. She approached Floki's tent and peaked inside, nothing but a quilt. She made her way over to Witt's tent and looked inside, same as Floki's. She approached Oak's tent,

"Oh, I wonder what could be behind this one. A quilt maybe?" She said as she peaked inside.

To her surprise, there was an open notebook with several pencil's on top and around it.

"Huh?"

September entered and bent down in front of the note book and shut it before opening it to the first page; it was a drawing of a dragon,

"Oak can draw?" She uttered in astonishment.

At the bottom of the page was a short paragraph.

"He can use words?"

It read:

_"The dragon has always inspired the imagination throughout various cultures. The Europeans saw the dragon as a beast, or a monster. The Chinese saw the dragon as a being of honor, loyalty, and wisdom. Floki was my inspiration for this illustration, he resembles both the Chinese and European interpretations."_

September flipped and read all of his work. When she reached the final page, it was a picture of a snake. At the bottom of the page there was his last entry:

_"In various religions, the snake is seen as a stealthy demon of deception, poisonous creatures. My inspiration for this image, September. She may seem like a decent girl to Witt, even with her position as Floki's protege, but don't be fooled-she is disgusting, repulsive, and cruel. This behavior is likely to have come from a traumatic event, loss of family, the horrors of the apocalypse, or possible defilement. With this said, I feel nothing but sympathy for the girl. Floki can see it too, I occasionally give him a frown, i return, he shakes his head and goes back to the girl. The only reason he denies it, is because he still mourns his granddaughter. With all her issues, she is still imaginative, smart, and can care for others. Regardless, her darkness is still there."_

September dropped the notebook and left the tent.


	28. Misunderstood Understanding

**Day 901, "Howe's hardware roof", 7:32 AM**

"I'm not sure I understand. Do you know who left that? what do they want?" Jane asked.

Lee continued to look off into the distant tree-line, expecting to spot September hiding out there, "Bill took me and Nate in awhile back. He asked for my help to rescue some kidnapped girls from a camp, we got out most of them."

"And what does this have to do with this?" Jane inquired.

"One of those girls' family was lost when she returned, I decided to look after her." Lee explained.

"So, you think she stayed behind after this place fell? and she survived and managed to not get caught by any of us?" Jane asked, beginning to scan the roof.

"Doesn't matter, we know that carving wasn't there yesterday." he told her.

"So, why doesn't she just come out? why hide?"

"I don't know, we left together, long before this place fell. Basically what I am trying to say is, this girl has been able to survive for over a year, out there, in the wilderness. And she wasn't in the best state of mind either, I can't imagine what she is like now."

Lee turned and made his way towards the green-house.

"She's just a kid, what harm could she do?" She asked, stepping in front of the green-house door.

"Just trust me, she's not like any kid you've ever met." He told her before moving past her and pulling the door open.

"Oh hey, Lee... and _you_." Nate greeted, giving Jane a slight glare as he tossed a red berry into his mouth.

"Nate, I think September might be hiding somewhere in the warehouse." Lee directly stated.

"Who?" Nate responded, raising a brow in confusion.

Lee shook his head and turned to leave, "Never-mind, just let me know if you see her anywhere."

"Will-do, Captain witness."

Lee made his way off the roof-down the stairs-and into the warehouse; Jane followed just behind.

"So, what do we do if we find her?" Jane asked.

Lee stopped and began contemplating the best course of action, "I'm not sure. Grabbing her or attacking her would be bad. We also shouldn't yell and announce her location; that'll just spook her, or worse. Try talking to her, get her to come see me."

"What if it's not that simple?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"We do what we must..." He told her with a sigh. "Go find Kenny, and the others, get them to start looking."

"Yeah, okay."

Jane jogged off towards the red double-doors. Lee began advancing towards the armory; when he reached the red door, he stopped; there was a hockey mask taped to the door. The hockey mask was badly damaged and covered in blood. The duct tape holding the mask up appeared to have something written on it,

_"Ask him where he got the mask." _

"Nate's mask? the hell is this, September?" Lee whispered, tearing the mask off the wall and walking towards the stairs to the roof.

When he reached the roof, he saw Nate leaning against the green-house door.

"Hey, Nate." Lee greeted as he approached and stood before Nate.

"You got something there?" Nate asked.

Lee tossed it onto the ground in front of him.

"Well, this sure is interesting." Nate inferred.

"So, how did you get the mask?" Lee questioned.

"Off a corpse." Nate told him casually.

"Come on, don't bullshit me." Lee said, slightly frowning.

Nate laughed and crossed his arms, "Okay, okay. There were these three guys me and Randy met in the woods, we had a uh, disagreement about some game we found."

"Are you telling me, you killed three men over a deer?" Lee asked in disbelief, placing his hand on his forehead.

"Two, actually. Randy shot one of them."

"Look, Nate, I think those guys were September's friends." Lee told him.

"And...?" Nate replied, raising his hands in a mocking manner.

"And she's likely to kill you, she's already managed to remain out of our sight for who knows how long."

Nate began laughing, "Oh, Lee... you always manage to leave a smile on my face."

"Look, I've seen her in action, and we don't know where she is, you've got to watch your back." Lee told him.

"What else is new? since when have you ever watched _my_ back?" Nate questioned, slightly aggressive.

"What do you think I'm doing? you're acting like there is nothing going on. What if she has help? what if she hurts someone?" Lee questioned.

"Whatever, I'll keep an eye out. That's what you want from me right? now just stop being a pussy."

"I want you to take this shit seriously."

Just as Lee was about to revolve and make his way down into the store, they heard a man screaming just outside, in the 'pin'.

"Shit!" Lee exclaimed before rushing down the stairs and through the warehouse and outside.

Randy was on the ground, a thick kitchen knife embedded in his right shoulder. Patricia began elevating Randy's wounded side. Gill appeared distressed, his face stricken with fear and sorrow. Kenny was scanning the area, pistol in hand. Jane knelled and began to tie a white t-shirt around the wound. Nate was just behind Lee.

"What happened!?" Lee inquired, frantically.

"She was... urge! talking to my boy... I rushed her, but she stabbed this into me, before taking off over the fence." Randy explained.

**Thirteen hours later...**

Lee sat in Carver's chair, staring out through the glass, watching the floor below. Nate sat in the corner by the metal shelves, legs crossed. Jane sat against the door, resting her head against her left hand. Kenny sat against the front of Carver's desk, staring down at the floor. Patricia sat in the chair in the corner of the room, holding her sleeping son in her arms. Randy sat on the ground beside his wife. No-one dared to lay eyes on one-another for the duration of time they had been in the room.

"I propose, we discuss our next course of action." Randy stated as he held his now bandaged and stitched shoulder.

"Got it, sitting on our asses and hiding from some kid." Kenny said.

"We're not hiding, this is just a precaution. You'll know what she is capable of." Lee said.

"Why not just go out and confront her? She's obviously come out and made her presence known for a reason." Jane said.

"That makes sense." Patricia agreed.

"Well, I killed her friends, she sliced a guy's head apart for robbing Lee, who knows what this crazy girl wants, right?" Nate mocked.

Jane stood, "So, what do we do? hide in this room and live like prisoners? how long can we go on, having to watch our backs around every corner? I say we go out and find out what she wants."

Lee stood and walked towards the door, "I'll go, I can't ask any of you to risk your lives over this; she's my responsibility."

Nate stood, "And what about me? I'm the one that drew her in our direction. I can handle this, seriously, come on people."

"No, I'm the one who abandoned her and got her father killed; stay here, I'll be back soon." Lee told him, grabbing the doorknob.

"You remember what I told you the last time you said you'd go alone? right?" Kenny asked, standing as well.

"I appreciate it, really, I got this, just stay behind." Lee said, opening the door.

"You don't trust us?" Kenny questioned.

"I don't trust _her_. She's not thinking straight anymore, I fixed her once, I can do it again. Besides, she's likely not going to come out if I'm not alone." Lee told him before exiting the room and shutting the door.

Lee walked down the stairs, briefly checking behind him as he continued down them. He entered the main stock room and raised his hand while surveying the room, still advancing towards the double red doors.

"I'm here, September." Lee stated into the empty, dark space. "Come on out, tell me what you want."

Suddenly the double red doors creaked slightly. Lee began speed walking towards them and pushing them open to find yet another empty room.

"September, you don't need to hide; I have no weapons, I don't want to hurt you." He reasoned.

Suddenly the loading bay door creaked open and a figure slid underneath it and out of the building.

_"This way, Lee!"_ September called from outside.

Lee sprinted towards it and quickly crawled under. He stood and began surveying the dark parking lot; the only light source available, was the shine from the full moon. There was nothing but trash and a few walkers further down the lot. Lee hopped down from the elevated warehouse and stopped in place. He heard a slight creak from above and instantly turned and looked up. September soared down, knife in hand. He grabbed her arm that was holding the knife as she fell onto him, forcing him to fall back from her momentum. She sat on, him trying to force her knife down with two hands. He began pushing her back slowly.

"September! what are you doing?!" Lee yelled.

She didn't answer. Lee tossed her to the side, off of him. Both were on their feet almost instantly. She wasted no time, she grabbed her knife and lunged at him. Lee sidestepped out of the way and grabbed her arm once more before lifting her off the ground by it. She tried freeing her arm to no avail.

"Just stop this before it goes any further!" Lee yelled.

She frowned and quickly kicked him in the ribs, causing him to let her go and hold his side. She advanced forward and swung her knife at him; he tried dodging but still felt cold metal pierce his stomach.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed in pain.

She swung again, only this time to be met with a boot to the chest. Lee kicked her, causing her to fall back onto the pavement.

"Don't force my hand, September!" Lee told her.

"...Raaaaauuugghhh...!" A thin walker growled from behind Lee.

Lee quickly grabbed the monster by the neck and lifted him off the ground before forcing it back and down against the parking lot ground. It's head collided and was smashed instantly.

"Hey!" September called.

Lee began to turn to face her as a rotating knife flew and sliced his left shoulder before falling onto the ground past him. Lee groaned in pain and grabbed his shoulder but still tried to continue. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his right knee causing him to fall down onto the ground. September dropped a 2x4 plank of wood and picked up the knife before advancing towards him once more. He tried to get up but found that his wounds began to slow him. She ran up to him and kicked him in the forehead. He fell back, dazed by the blow to the head. September hopped onto Lee's stomach, causing him to yell in pain from the cut she dealt him earlier.

"Well, this is it, Lee. This is where everything cuts to black!" September told him as she raised her knife above her with two hands.

"Hey!" A voice called from the direction of the warehouse.

September turned and placed the knife close to Lee's throat, "I'll kill him! don't come any closer!" She warned.

Lee slowly turned his gaze to see who it was, Nate.

"What are you doing, girly?" Nate asked.

She didn't respond.

"I mean, why kill him? he didn't do wrong by you, right?" Nate said.

September began shaking, her eyes began twitching, she was almost snarling.

"Look, this guy, he saved your life. He took care of you. He found your dad for you. He doesn't deserve to die." Nate reasoned.

"HE ABANDONED US!" She screamed.

"He didn't. He was looking for his girl, you know that."

September gripped the knife even harder.

"Look, I know how you feel." Nate told her.

"How could you?!" She demanded.

"You know that feeling you get? when you just feel this emptiness inside you? I didn't go through the same experience as you, but I know."

September glared at Nate.

"Those men, they did bad things to you, things that should NEVER happen to a girl like you. You must have had this feeling like, everything just fell apart, like a mirror. But if you hold onto that hate and sadness, you'll never get over it; it'll just get louder and louder. The more you keep _feeling_ like a victim, the more you're going to _stay_ a victim."

September began edging the knife away from Lee.

"What you got to do is, not let this continue to change you, don't let those fuckers win, 'cause when you give into the feeling you've got, when you keep crying every night, THEY WIN! You don't want them to win, so you get back up and tell yourself, you're bigger than this, you CAN come back from this! it doesn't matter who shits on you, who fucks you over, we can always keep going. They are dead, you're still here! even after all that's happened! The only one holding you back is yourself."

A set of tears made their way down September's face. She gripped the knife and brought it back up to Lee's throat, "I'll kill him..."

"Kill me instead." Nate offered, outstretching his hands and getting down on his knees.

September got off of Lee and made her way towards Nate. Nate simply stared at her as she approached, no fear in his eyes. She took position in front of him, brought the knife a mere centimeter to his chest. She began shaking, and sobbing as soon as she poked him with the blade.

"It's your choice." He told her.

She trembled immensely, unable to do anything but stand and cry. For the longest time they looked into one another's eyes, complete understanding. She dropped the knife, "You're right..."

Suddenly September turned and sprinted towards the tree-line.

"September, wait!" Lee yelled.

The girl kept running until she was out of sight, in the woods. Lee watched another person he cared for leave him.

"Come on, man. Let's get inside." Nate told him, outstretching his hand to him.

Lee took hold of his hand.

**Author's Note: This is the end for now, I mean I could always write what happened to the other characters, just not much else to do involving Lee's story directly. There is one thing I neglected to do that I probably should have done; don't want to spoil, I'll just save it for later. I'd like to thank everyone who decided to favorite/follow me. The feedback helped me continue and improve. There is still much to do for this story, the old chapters and even the new ones need to be fixed. I also deeply appreciate everyone who stuck around to let me know their thoughts on my story, even after Clem and Lee split. I'll eventually add on to this story in the future; we've got to wait for Tell-Tale games to dish out their third installment. Anyway, I love you guys. Peace.**


	29. The Transfusion

**Author's Note: Seems like I just can't stop posting chapters for this. I think this'll make things more interesting down the line. Just so you know, **this kind of text would be either french dialogue or general information. _This kind of font is English or when there is emphasis on a word in french._**Anyway, I've been pretty busy lately, and writing times are getting less and less convenient. Okay enough complaining from me, go ahead and read.**

**Day 87, Informatique CDC, ****18 Rue Berthollet, ****94110, Arcueil, ****France. Early morning.**

**-Abella Robin**

"Abella!" A large, bald, dark-skinned man wearing a lab coat called; his deep voice slightly startling her.

"Yes, monsieur?" The semi-short haired brunet answered, her pale-lightly freckled face slightly blushing red from being startled.

"Have we any progress?" He asked, standing over her desk, fists on his hips.

The small woman stood, adjusted her glasses and met eye-to-eye with her superior, "We have been unable to classify it as, bacteria, virus, fungi... anyway, we _do_ know, the brain stem restarts it's self, bodies reanimate, no matter the cause of death, with the exception of a damaged brain." Abella explained.

"Do you have anything useful? Anything that could point to a possible cure? Something?" The man asked, leaning intently, anxiously.

The woman cleared her throat before proceeding, "The reanimation originates within our DNA."

"Elaborate." He demanded.

"Scientists discovered genetic dark matter, this is old information though, before the plague; a mysterious genetic life form which cannot be classified as animal, bacteria, or virus. This genetic dark matter comprises, ninety-five percent of the human genome. And for the longest time, we had no idea what it was, until recently."

"Time is short, cut to the CHASE!" He boomed, startling lesser scientists stationed in their respective workplaces.

"Certain conditions, perhaps the growing number of Co2 entering our atmosphere, or the constant radio waves transmitted, some theories even suggest vegetative fertilizers or the water we continue to pollute may have altered our genetic code, slowly, over time, like evolution. Thanks to the work of the late doctor Bruce, we created a sustenance that can reverse the mutation and even fight bite pathogens. Complete immunity."

The man raised his hands in the air, heart full of delight, "remercier les cieux! We need to begin distributing samples to everyone and anyone."

"The only sample in existence was transmitted into me, I was the test subject." She told him, placing her hand on her chest for emphasis.

The man frowned, "This is no major setback, right?"

"Sir, there is not possible way to distribute the anecdote to the main populations of the globe, considering the dead haven't already annihilated most of our species yet. Our government is gone, we have but a few days before decontamination takes effect. We made a huge breakthrough, but it's useless now." She informed him.

The large man stared off, as if his last reserves of hope had just left him, "I'll be in my office... Thank you for the report, your father would have been proud." He told her, the whites of his eyes beginning to turn pink, his mouth quivered slightly.

He walked off, slowly and heavily. Abella sat down in her chair, and laid her head down on her desk, "Well... vive la France." She whispered, and began drifting off to sleep. Suddenly a loud gunshot went off down the hall, at the end of the large computerized room in which she was present. Everyone in the room looked to each-other, unsure what to do. Everyone was fully aware of what happened, another suicide. The only question was, who? Abella already knew the answer.

**Two days later...**

Abella rushed to gather her things, rummaging around the room, tossing clothes into her large red backpack along with, food, a flashlight, various medical supplies. Due to fear of the bag being over encumbered, she discontinued adding on to her supply bag. *Knock knock knock*

"Abella! Are you ready? We're are running short on time." A Caucasian man with tan skin, short black hair, a stubble black beard of the same color, and large black glasses, also wearing a lab coat like everyone else in the building.

"Just about, Arthur! Do we have a plan for when we get out? Where do we go?" She questioned.

"There's a large boat at the docks, I've already sent people to prepare it for our arrival. In the mean time, we can use one of the jeeps outside, it's just a fifteen minute drive there. Come on, we have to leave, now." He told her, suddenly outstretching a gun to her.

She shook her head, "I wouldn't know how to use that."

Arthur placed the gun in the back of his pants before checking the hall outside the room, "Very well, we're off!"

The pair ran down the hall, up the stairs, and into the main room. They advanced towards the exit door, other scientists getting wind of it.

"Ah, I see! The two world's greatest scientists are abandoning ship!" One of the scientist yelled.

"We haven't lost hope yet, we're heading west." Arthur told them, still advancing towards the door.

"Good luck with that, vous etes stupide!"

"Enjoy decontamination, des amis." Arthur smirked before running through the large door with Abella following just behind.

The duo sprinted towards the now blown open double doors. A couple of dead people had already wandered inside. But since there were so few, Abella and Arthur ignored them and pressed on, making their way outside. Now exposed to sunlight, they continued running until the reached a green jeep, parked in the street in front of the informatique CDC. Arthur got into the driver's seat, Abella got in beside him. Just as Arthur started the jeep and took off, he smacked into walker, causing it to be flung over the side of the hood, smearing blood across it.

"En toutes choses bien!" Abella exclaimed, shielding her eyes as the collision happened.

"It's alright, Abella, that guy wasn't alive; you should know that better than anyone." Arthur reasoned.

"Can I not be disturbed by half his corpse being splattered across the car?" Abella replied, slightly shaken.

Suddenly, a loud thunderous boom could be heard behind them. Arthur pulled over to the side of the road, to avoid crashing from being frightened by the blast of sound and bright orange ball of inferno that over took the building they just abandoned. Abella watched in her side view mirror as her place of work for nearly ten years, came to a violent and fiery end.

Several minutes progressed on until they finally arrived at the docks. The large bay, which had once been filled with pearl colored vessels, now reduced to a single red hulled fishing ship with a large white tower; several people appeared to be waiting on board anxiously. Arthur parked near to the wooden dock and got out, advancing towards the end of the hundred foot dock, where the boat waited. Abella grabbed her backpack off the floor of the jeep and got out, running up beside Arthur.

"So, the west, you say? Why there?" She questioned.

"Maybe they fared far better than we did, it could be possible, their superior military might have been able to preserve part of their country." Arthur reasoned.

"What if they didn't?" Abella asked, trouble in her voice.

"I can't promise anything, Abella, I'm going off of faith as much as you are. At least we have that bit of hope, besides, we'd be trapped in this city if we stay." Arthur told her as he began walking up the inclined walkway, onto the boat. Once Abella stepped on-board, an older, shirtless, red headed man with a matching long beard pulled the walk way up, sliding down when perpendicular to the boat.

_"This your first time on a boat, french-woman?"_ The man inquired in a thick Irish accent.

_"My father took me, a long time ago."_ She told him, "Abella." She introduced herself, outstretching a hand.

The man took a hold of her hand, turned her palm down and stole a quick kiss to her hand, _"Captain. Doyle, at your service. But don't get to thinking you wont have to pull your own weight around here, lass."_

_"I won't, you have my word."_ She assured him.

_"Well, we're off then. Time to sail away from this God-forsaken continent. To the west we go!" _The large captain stated loudly, scratching his chest hairs while turning and approaching the stairs leading to the control room.

**One month later...**

The ship floated down the large river, everyone on deck looking for a suitable spot to dock and search for supplies and people. A large red bridge with four giant support beams. Arthur knelt near where the platform would extend, pump-shotgun in his right hand.

"It does not look like the Americans fared well against the dead." Abella inferred.

Arthur turned a cheek to her before shaking his head and waiting for the boat to dock. Others were tossing ropes to the wooden dock below, pulling the ship in. Suddenly a bell tower could be heard being chimed off in the distance. The multitude of people scanned the empty city, anxious and nervous.

_"What do you figure, lass? Think that's a welcoming a chime? Or some warning?" _Doyle asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She bent over and picked up her bag, _"Perhaps an automatic bell tower, or perhaps someone is signalling someone unknown to us."_

_"Let's go find out, shall we?" _Doyle ran his fingers along his harpoon.

Arthur pulled the platform up and let it fall forward, just as the boat made contact with the dock. Arthur stood, looked at the crowd of twelve people behind him before walking down the platform. The group followed Arthur, nervously and cautiously across the dock and onto the street. They stood beside a comic stand.

"Looks deserted so far, this is good." Arthur stated.

"How is this good?" Abella inquired.

Arthur turned to face her, the rest of the group split up and began looking among the area.

"This means, an entire city with all sorts of supplies, and no people to quarrel with." Arthur reasoned.

"Well, where are the dead people?" Abella questioned.

Suddenly a woman further up the street shouted to rest of the group, "Everyone! Look over here!"

Everyone ran towards her, all feeling shock as they neared what she found.

_"What devil could do something like this?" Doyle asked._

"I don't like this, the Americans could still be around, and if they're doing _this _to people..." A man stated before bending over and puking on the ground.

A wall of rotting corpses blocked the street. There were live dead people, penetrated through their bodies and left hanging on tall metal rods of some sort. They growled at the survivors below them. There were three large wooden signs with 'stay out' painted on them. Everyone began chatting among-st each-other, fear evident in their tones.

"Calm down, everyone, whoever did this has managed to clear the entire city of walkers, evidently." Arthur inferred.

Dust began lifting up through the air behind the building touching the comic stand.

_"Are dust storms in the streets, normal? Come on, dummy, give me something." _Doyle asked.

Arthur turned to face Doyle,_ "How am I supposed to-" _

All of a sudden, a Caucasian man with dark hair and a mustache, most of his body covered in blood, wearing an orange hat and blue shirt, sprinted out from down the street.

"Who's this?" Abella asked.

The man noticed them, but ignored them and made his way down the dock and onto their boat.

_"That is not yours to be taking!" _Arthur yelled.

_"Get off of my ship!" _Doyle seconded.

Everyone began running towards the boat. Several walkers advanced around the corner from where the man had be running.

"Go back, go back! retorner!" Arthur exclaimed.

The group turned and ran in the opposite direction and down an ally way, which was also blocked off by the dead.

"Everyone! we're going down here!" Arthur announced before stepping onto the ladder leading into the sewer. One-by-one everyone began climbing down. Abella, Arthur, Doyle, three others stood and watched two other survivors make their way down.

"AHHH! AIDEZ MOI! AIDEZ MOI!" A man on the ground level screamed in pain.

Blood poured down onto the man and woman making their way down the ladder.

"HEELLP!" A woman yelled after him.

There were three other shouts of agony after those two. A blonde woman began crying as she stepped off of the ladder, covered in the blood of her friend. Abella took her into her arms.

_"What a great plan, Arthur! Now you got five of your own torn apart and eaten, after a great voyage over here." _Doyle tempted.

Arthur frowned and balled up his fists before he turned and swung at Doyle, Doyle dodged and dealt a powerful punch to Arthur's nose. Arthur fell back, dazed and unable to stand. Doyle got onto Arthur and began beating on Arthur's face, alternating from his left fist to his right fist, left, right, left, right, left, right...

_"Stop this! Let him go!" _Abella ordered, voice cracking.

Doyle looked up at her, hands bloody and shaking. He then looked down at Arthur, now unconscious, and spit in his face before standing back up.

Abella bent down and placed her hand on his chest, "Arthur?"

Arthur suddenly began spasming and shaking, Abella instantly placed him on his side and held his head in place.

_"He's having a seizure, Doyle!" _Abella yelled, anger in her voice.

_"Like I care."_ Doyle stated before walking down some brick stairs and into the sewer.

_"Where are you going!?" _The other woman covered in blood questioned.

_"None of your concern."_ Doyle told her before making his way around the corner.

"Impossible! This is so wrong..." Abella stated as she held Arthur's head.

"What do we do?" The blonde woman asked.

"I'm going with Doyle." A man with brown hair stated before making his way down the stairs.

"What about Arthur?" Abella questioned.

"Arthur is going to get us all killed, we cannot drag him around, you know the post effects of a seizure better than anyone." The leading man stated.

Everyone looked among-st each-other before following the lead of the other man.

"Traitors! Selfish and scared! If it weren't for Arthur, you'd all be decontaminated like the vermin you are!" Abella ranted.

None looked back.

**A few hours later...**

Arthur sat against the wall near where he has his seizure. He turned his gaze to the woman sitting in front of him, "You should go..."

"No." She replied.

"Don't worry about me, I need some rest. I'll find you later on. Go find the others and make sure they're safe. Seriously." Arthur told her.

"Are you sure that's what's best?" She confirmed.

"Yes." He said before drifting off to sleep.

Abella stood, picked up her back-pack and made her way down the stairs, "Take care, Arthur." She told him, feeling close to tears.

After close to half an hour of blindly searching through the sewers, she noticed an open pothole above her.

"Perhaps they went up this way." She assumed before taking hold of the rusty ladder and making her way up it.

When she reached outside, she shut the pothole and checked her surroundings, she was in an ally, streets on both sides were flooded with the dead. She gasped and planted her back against a door behind her. She took hold of the door knob and turned it before entering and quickly shutting it. She breathed heavily held both sides of her head, panting almost crying.

"_... Clem.._." She heard beside her, causing her to slowly turn her gaze to the source of the voice.

A dark-skinned man with short hair, a beard, a torn blue shirt, and amputated arm, sat, handcuffed to a radiator. His eyes were shut and he was leaning against the radiator. A dead cop was lying near him, she put two and two together. She bent down beside him, and felt his neck for a pulse.

"Weak." She stated before unzipping her backpack, "Sir, can you hear me?"

No response.

"You're probably a bite victim." She told him, before pulling out a blood type test, "Let's hope you're O-negative." She stated before stamping his finger and pressing the P in the center of the test. The screen on the test began displaying green dots until it finished processing. '... ... ... O-' She pulled out an empty needle. She penetrated her arm with it and slowly pulled back on the tail of the needle, filling it with her blood. She then proceeded to slide it into the unconscious man's arm.

"That should deal with the pathogens, if not, at least you won't turn on me while I work on a better blood transfusion." Abella told him.

She checked his pulse again, it began gradually getting stronger.

"I guess we're going to have to get better antiquated after I finish saving your life." Abella said as she dug back into her bag.


End file.
